Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

I am fairly sure it's easier to ward an estate to withstand nuke equivalents and army invasions than a penthouse.
Im sure its not possible to ward an estate to withstand nuke equivalents.
And the example of Archangelsk, Chitchen Itza and the Battle of Chicago in Battle Grounds suggests that the only answer to an army is an army of your own.


EDIT
I mean, see what happened when Shagnasty came to the Raith estate.
Or for that matter, when Ebenezar dropped a Soviet-era satellite on Casaverde.
 
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There's also two types of security in the Dresdenverse. Security by fortification, and security by exposure. At least in the supernatural. Most supernatural actors are a lot less likely to start shit in a public highly visible area than in said large private estate, where they can cut loose with the heavy artillery more comfortably.

When Molly and Rosie move from here, Im going to be suggesting another estate inside Chicago proper.
We are well past the point where anybody that would be bothered by exposure would even be able to consider coming after Molly.
 
Im sure its not possible to ward an estate to withstand nuke equivalents.
And the example of Archangelsk, Chitchen Itza and the Battle of Chicago in Battle Grounds suggests that the only answer to an army is an army of your own.


EDIT
I mean, see what happened when Shagnasty came to the Raith estate.
Or for that matter, when Ebenezar dropped a Soviet-era satellite on Casaverde.
Depending on your read of the interaction between Private Idaho and the location splendors it might be possible to design a splendor that rips anyone in a certain range of it into an extradimensional panic room if a powerful AoE effect enters the same space.

As long as such a build has the form of earth in it the first attempt to destroy it in the scene, however strong it is, fails. So a nuke would fail to hurt anyone or force an ejection into occupied space by smashing the anchor.

The building would be trashed though, so you could argue it technically doesn't count as fortifying it.
 
[JK] "You know the common curse, 'I hope you have children just like yourself'? Well, I know people who are really good at curses."

Similarly, unexplained income pulls aggro from the Internal Revenue Service.
The IRS doesn't really care about unexplained income, as long as it's not unreported income. Include all your drug money on your return as "other income", and you're good.
 
Depending on your read of the interaction between Private Idaho and the location splendors it might be possible to design a splendor that rips anyone in a certain range of it into an extradimensional panic room if a powerful AoE effect enters the same space.

As long as such a build has the form of earth in it the first attempt to destroy it in the scene, however strong it is, fails. So a nuke would fail to hurt anyone or force an ejection into occupied space by smashing the anchor.

The building would be trashed though, so you could argue it technically doesn't count as fortifying it.
Extradimensional panic room to evac people in danger? Sure. Sounds interesting, and something to investigate.
Yog was talking about wards though, to actually defend the place. And thats not really something you can rig up for most estates.

Fending off a nuke-equivalent strike requires at least a dedicated installation like the Hidden Halls of Edinburgh, which is underground, built by Fae, maintained by wizards, and situated on a major nexus of leylines from which it presumably draws power for all the magical defenses it has.

Punching through something like that required either
1) A god. A genuine, Incarna-class, Fae Queen-tier god. Which was allegedly the calculation behind the events of Dead Beat
2) A major ritual like the bloodline curse in Changes, and even that required sympathetic links


Speaking of which, this is the class of shit I think of when I think of Splendors.
Stuff we cant do anyhow else.
Not armor.
[JK] "You know the common curse, 'I hope you have children just like yourself'? Well, I know people who are really good at curses."


The IRS doesn't really care about unexplained income, as long as it's not unreported income. Include all your drug money on your return as "other income", and you're good.
Thats what I mean.
Give Uncle Sam his cut, and the tax cops will ignore you. If you dont, you'll have an additional set of LEOs dogging your ass.
Render unto Caesar, et cetera.
 
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As an aside, Amanda is going to have such a weird childhood. Her Mom is actually magic and can send her good dreams*. The babysitters are cyborgs, her dogs all have super powers, and all the cool electronics talk back.

If she goes to Sunday school and someone mentions the Trinity even odds she'll go, "Oh! Like Auntie?".

Addams Family level weird, but magical cyberpunk. :V

We've talked about it before, but it's worth appreciating that even if we aren't actively working to get her power of her own the passive strangeness around here will be off the charts.

* Even odds that Rosie is a master sorcerer by the time Amanda can talk, meaning she could do some considerable but very subtle bullshit. I'm still hoping she'll be able to "program" daydream style hallucinations to add new software to her brain via rituals. Perfect memory, enhanced reflexes or redirected processing power, all sorts of neat software additions to side load into her brain to grant herself implausible competence at all sorts of things.
 
Is that something dream magic can do?
Yes, in a far more limited fashion:
Actually, shouldn't Rosie be able to do something like this at oneiromancy 5? Possibly while risking multiple personality disorder?
Something like the simplified explication, not the full reality of SGI yes
As an aside, Amanda is going to have such a weird childhood. Her Mom is actually magic and can send her good dreams*. The babysitters are cyborgs, her dogs all have super powers, and all the cool electronics talk back.

If she goes to Sunday school and someone mentions the Trinity even odds she'll go, "Oh! Like Auntie?".

Addams Family level weird, but magical cyberpunk. :V

We've talked about it before, but it's worth appreciating that even if we aren't actively working to get her power of her own the passive strangeness around here will be off the charts.

* Even odds that Rosie is a master sorcerer by the time Amanda can talk, meaning she could do some considerable but very subtle bullshit. I'm still hoping she'll be able to "program" daydream style hallucinations to add new software to her brain via rituals. Perfect memory, enhanced reflexes or redirected processing power, all sorts of neat software additions to side load into her brain to grant herself implausible competence at all sorts of things.
I still think that raising her bilingual, where one of the languages is Primordial is a good idea for mental development. This should be the most comprehensive / complex language in existence, best for describing complex things human brains struggle with. It should give her significant boosts, and not just in magical development (which we know it will do).
 
I still think that raising her bilingual, where one of the languages is Primordial is a good idea for mental development. This should be the most comprehensive / complex language in existence, best for describing complex things human brains struggle with. It should give her significant boosts, and not just in magical development (which we know it will do).
I'm sorry if this sound dismissive or like, but... Are you serious? Genuinly curious, I see merit but something makes me think you're suggesting it for laughs.
 
I'm sorry if this sound dismissive or like, but... Are you serious? Genuinly curious, I see merit but something makes me think you're suggesting it for laughs.
I am perfectly serious? Like, we actually have confirmation in story that being a native speaker of Primordial Language (the one that we use via SCCP) gives mortal people serious occult advantages:
Also, very silly question but if we used SCCP on Amanda would her random baby screeches that you need to guess on solutions for come out as something understandable? :V

Do babies count as not sharing a language or not (yet) being capable of using them?
I mean, that's the kinda sillyness that great games are about. And on this note, exalted training charms care nothing about the subject's age. We could have that baby be Dex 5, Occult 5 in a couple of months. I wonder how that would affect their development.
Seriously though I cannot tell you guys what training Charms would do since Molly does not have any of them, but as for Source Code Compilation
*rolls dice*

It would do several things:
  1. Make them more capable of magic in whatever direction they are inclined. Mechanically you can buy Numia for 1 XP less /level
  2. Allow them to craft rituals more efficiently, -2 DC to making a ritual, that is a natural part of knowing the language no matter what age you learned it at and...
  3. Gives them a chance to Enlightening their Essence, chance being the operative word, the mortal would be far more likely to immolate oneself in the flames of one's own soul, but some chance is still more than no chance
I assume that there would also be in-story mental development effects, but overall this sounds like a non-evil and seriously intriguing plot thread to follow, with interesting in-story consequences. Babies usually start speaking their first words in the ages between 10 and 14 months, so we should be able to see this in-quest too.

Like, this is utterly fascinating to me, actually.
 
Peronsally I would start buying the property around the Molly parents residence. And moving in people, equipment etc, centralize the locations we need to keep an eye on. Much easier to keep people safe if their are half a dozen ultra tech commandos next door.
 
[X] Dream versions of yourself that came alive and learned themselves to dream

Sorcerer Revised said:
●●●●●● The greatest and the most legendary power of Oneiromancy is the ability to make the dream real: physical entry into the Dream Realm. One who accomplishes this incredibly difficult feat can walk from dream to dream almost at will. They may even be able to bring items (or even living things) out of the dream and into the real world - - - for a time.

Sorcerer Paths of Power said:
●●●●● Legendary dreamweavers no longer are restricted to the realm of dreams. At this rank, they can physically enter the Dream Realm, walking from dream to dream almost at will. They can even bring items (and sometimes living things!) out of the dream and into the real world, though they will tend to fade, often unpredictably, without being maintained.
I'm unsure of which version and we tend to kind of picking pull from both when picking out rituals for using but either way if she becomes a master or a grand master at her craft she is capable of doing the walking living dream thing so lets be inspirational.
 
Peronsally I would start buying the property around the Molly parents residence. And moving in people, equipment etc, centralize the locations we need to keep an eye on. Much easier to keep people safe if their are half a dozen ultra tech commandos next door.
That only gets people who are willing to sell, and changes the character of the neighborhood besides.
And there's already angelic protection for non-mortal threats.

But frankly, while Molly or a Molly clone lives there, the response team is probably unnecessary.
Just get Charity to accept some friendly, smart dogs who Molly has laid hands on with IDU.
Maybe HMP cyberdevils into a bunch of bird-shaped drones from Sanctuary for surveillance of the local neighborhood.

I still think that raising her bilingual, where one of the languages is Primordial is a good idea for mental development. This should be the most comprehensive / complex language in existence, best for describing complex things human brains struggle with. It should give her significant boosts, and not just in magical development (which we know it will do).
Rosie is almost definitely a Spanish speaker; bilingual is already covered.
Primordial is the kind of permanent choice I would not push on a child below the age of majority.
 
Incidentally, if we were going to do one of those TV shows based on the supernatural world I think the funniest option would be based on Amanda's life or at least a fictionalized accelerated version of it.

The show starts as the daily life of this little kid and the entirely normal stuff that happens in it. Starting out actually normal and just sort of sliding into the strange as something she doesn't realize isn't mundane. Run some set up, then have her explore the normal world.

That only gets people who are willing to sell, and changes the character of the neighborhood besides.
And there's already angelic protection for non-mortal threats.

But frankly, while Molly or a Molly clone lives there, the response team is probably unnecessary.
Just get Charity to accept some friendly, smart dogs who Molly has laid hands on with IDU.
Maybe HMP cyberdevils into a bunch of bird-shaped drones from Sanctuary for surveillance of the local neighborhood.


Rosie is almost definitely a Spanish speaker; bilingual is already covered.
Primordial is the kind of permanent choice I would not push on a child below the age of majority.
Picking languages for your kid to learn young is one of the most basic early life responsibilities of a parent. Nobody picks their first languages, and every immigrant parent anywhere on earth has picked at least one for their children based on what they think will be most useful for them.
 
Picking languages for your kid to learn young is one of the most basic early life responsibilities of a parent. Nobody picks their first languages, and every immigrant parent anywhere on earth has picked at least one for their children based on what they think will be most useful for them.
Im multilingual. Im quite familiar with the process.
But theres a difference between teaching a person a second or third language, and introducing them into some of the secrets of the universe in a manner that might induce permanent changes.

You can choose to stop speaking Spanish, or Mandarin, or Tagalog.
Hell, you can quit ballet, or gymnastics, or ice skating; all skills that need to be started early, and are often the provenance of family, or at least parental, decisions.

If you're checked into the supernatural at this level, it marks you. Permanently.
Like the Eagles said, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."
Its not a choice I would deliberately make for a minor.

Especially since, given that Molly is a Celestial Exalt that favors Craft, she can convey such benefits anyway.
 
•••• Emergency escape. Gives ability to teleport up to 12 meters in any direction within line of sight up to three times within one scene.
Man I completely forgot about this. I believe that was after we got held in place by Outsiders twice. Going back through old post you come across a lot of abandoned plans/ideas.
 
Im multilingual. Im quite familiar with the process.
But theres a difference between teaching a person a second or third language, and introducing them into some of the secrets of the universe in a manner that might induce permanent changes.

You can choose to stop speaking Spanish, or Mandarin, or Tagalog.
Hell, you can quit ballet, or gymnastics, or ice skating; all skills that need to be started early, and are often the provenance of family, or at least parental, decisions.

If you're checked into the supernatural at this level, it marks you. Permanently.
Like the Eagles said, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."
Its not a choice I would deliberately make for a minor.

Especially since, given that Molly is a Celestial Exalt that favors Craft, she can convey such benefits anyway.
The problem is that there is a qualitative difference between learning a language (and Primordial is a language) as an infant, and as an adult. Would you agree to spending an AP studying / checking child development (full on bonuses applied) to determine the possible effects? Consult Lash, who has high science and academics, and Lore of Flesh (which should apply on at least some level) at 5, do an occult study and spend some crown questions to develop the best possible child rearing regime? This seems like a purely good option.

I'll also add that learning Primordial helps with one's magic. We know that in Dresden Files magic induces longevity. It's unlikely to turn Amanda into a full wizard, but it might help.

Basically, I actually get your worry, but I think we should at least look into this, to try and determine if there are side effects before dismissing the whole thing.
 
The problem is that there is a qualitative difference between learning a language (and Primordial is a language) as an infant, and as an adult. Would you agree to spending an AP studying / checking child development (full on bonuses applied) to determine the possible effects? Consult Lash, who has high science and academics, and Lore of Flesh (which should apply on at least some level) at 5, do an occult study and spend some crown questions to develop the best possible child rearing regime? This seems like a purely good option.

I'll also add that learning Primordial helps with one's magic. We know that in Dresden Files magic induces longevity. It's unlikely to turn Amanda into a full wizard, but it might help.

Basically, I actually get your worry, but I think we should at least look into this, to try and determine if there are side effects before dismissing the whole thing.
I'm not going to vote to teach Amanda this, because besides thinking it's an exaggeration that won't have an effect on the quest time, I'm almost certain, considering your votes, that you'll use this victory as an excuse to try to spread the knowledge to all humanity later and I have zero interest in it
 
Im multilingual. Im quite familiar with the process.
But theres a difference between teaching a person a second or third language, and introducing them into some of the secrets of the universe in a manner that might induce permanent changes.

You can choose to stop speaking Spanish, or Mandarin, or Tagalog.
Hell, you can quit ballet, or gymnastics, or ice skating; all skills that need to be started early, and are often the provenance of family, or at least parental, decisions.

If you're checked into the supernatural at this level, it marks you. Permanently.
Like the Eagles said, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."
Its not a choice I would deliberately make for a minor.

Especially since, given that Molly is a Celestial Exalt that favors Craft, she can convey such benefits anyway.
I think this might be a bit facetious or very least not quite right because charity full-on had magic and now it does not anymore. Speaking a language no matter how powerful language it is isn't the same as I was a full-on wizard tier talent and now I am not anymore. Unless you're going to compare knowing a language to being a full wizard then I'm going to say it's not that serious no matter how well it predisposes someone to the supernatural.
The problem is that there is a qualitative difference between learning a language (and Primordial is a language) as an infant, and as an adult. Would you agree to spending an AP studying / checking child development (full on bonuses applied) to determine the possible effects? Consult Lash, who has high science and academics, and Lore of Flesh (which should apply on at least some level) at 5, do an occult study and spend some crown questions to develop the best possible child rearing regime? This seems like a purely good option.

I'll also add that learning Primordial helps with one's magic. We know that in Dresden Files magic induces longevity. It's unlikely to turn Amanda into a full wizard, but it might help.

Basically, I actually get your worry, but I think we should at least look into this, to try and determine if there are side effects before dismissing the whole thing.
It is just a language it's a non-human language that is perfectly descriptive but to be frank other than helping her development like any other language would and helping her occult leanings it would affect her development in any other way it's not a mind virus or a spell it's a language. If knowing a language was enough to awake a full wizard Harrowmont would have been one.
 
I don't plan on purposely teaching the baby primordial, but I have no compunctions about regularly using Source Code Compliance Protocol to ask a baby what they are crying about. That's what the charm is for!
 
I'm not going to vote to teach Amanda this, because besides thinking it's an exaggeration that won't have an effect on the quest time, I'm almost certain, considering your votes, that you'll use this victory as an excuse to try to spread the knowledge to all humanity later and I have zero interest in it
Okay, that's a rather derogatory way to say that. Yog has leadings that don't just arbitrarily hog the knowledge that we're not using that people are looking for. This tendency to just say no we know things and we're just never going to tell anyone just because is horseshit it is literally exalted Behavior and wizard Behavior the worst kind of exalted Behavior Dragon blooded Behavior too. Oh they don't need to know the information that they devoted their lives to finding we can just never tell them or never even give a hint or just silently put the information out there even if nothing ever comes from it it's good that they have it.

To treat the arbitrary hoarding of knowledge that literally can't hurt anyone as virtuous or good is obviously horseshit it's one thing not to want to do with it it's another to say it's a good thing note I'm not saying primordial language this is more about the aliens thing.

To give proof to the shitty magical personal hoarding knowledge that people are spending their lives trying to find and study behavior that I'm speaking of.
It is a square thing with a battered leather cover about a foot and a half tall and a foot wide thick with page after page of yellowing parchment. "This..." Harry proclaims, a little out of breath as he plonks the thing down. "Is a translation guide of a bunch of ancient languages that science hasn't quite gotten around to deciphering, but which the White Council has between wizards just preserving the right texts, living longer and using divination to fill in the blanks. Might be useful figuring out whatever ancient magic you have going on. I can't give it to you physically, the librarian in Edinburgh will have my head, but you can take pictures of all the pages."

"Harry, why haven't the Council shared this?" you ask, overwhelmed and confused at the same time. The deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphics, Sumerian Cuneiform and Linear B had changed the way those cultures had been seen, shaken people's very understanding of the ancient past, revealed myths and legends, mundane doings and grand strokes of war and diplomacy that otherwise would have been forever silent and the White Council were just keeping that back, that several times over?

"The authors, there's the work of eight or nine wizards in there, used magic to figure it out," comes the sober reply. "It might get some very curious people used to unraveling mysteries asking the kind of questions that are best left alone."
 
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