I don't like Molly pulling out her eldritch knowledge to peer into people's secrets at little to no provocation.
Didn't like it with that "greatest shame" Charm, don't like it with the Crown.
It's just something that I fundamentally think shouldn't be done outside of emergencies.
And since we have him here, are talking anyway with all our social boosters, it's not an emergency.
But this is where I also point at the fact that Molly's Urge is Curiosity.
Manners and good upbringing only go so far in mitigating it; both canonically and in this quest, she used to listen at her parent's bedroom door for things that Charity did not want her to know even before she Exalted.
Martin is new to her, someone whose measure she doesnt have yet, nor does he have anyone Molly trusts vouching for him.
I think its reasonable she'd be conventionally polite enough not to press him about stuff he didnt want to talk about, at least not without further justification. But still be curious enough to snoop.
Especially since she has commitments to ensuring the security of others.
The options arent Crown question OR talk; she can snoop and use that information to guide her talking.
And given that that Martin is more than two hundred years old according to the citations from Changes, I am quite happy to stack any advantages we can. Thats a lot of life experience and supernatural contacts.
No point underestimating the dude.
the Alembic is a bit strong for its dot cost, a 2 dot object is meant to be magical yes, but not blatantly so. Adding significant functionality to an entire Path goes beyond that. I would call that 4 dot. Also each mixing would require an alchemy roll with whatever pool the alchemist uses not to spoil
This is a call back to ages and ages ago but is this a solid interpretation for the Alembic? @DragonParadox
The Alembic of Refining ●●
A thick glass vessel a a little over a half a meter tall with impossible cavities that form runes of the five fold court across the body of the alembic ending at the spout.
System: Addition of two to four potions or mixtures of the same type to increase duration Refining potions requires a (Rank+Number of potions) difficulty roll to safely refine into a singular potion taking roughly the same amount of time it took to create the constituent potions.
Example: Speed allows the user to run twice as fast for the duration of one scene. However, this is still exhausting, and after the scene, the user makes a Stamina check (difficulty 6) or else suffer -2 on all physical die rolls due to exhaustion for the next hour. At two distilled potions increase the duration from one scene to one hour (difficulty 4), At three from one hour to six (difficulty 5), At four from six hours to a day (difficulty 6).
This is a call back to ages and ages ago but is this a solid interpretation for the Alembic? @DragonParadox
The Alembic of Refining ●●
A thick glass vessel a a little over a half a meter tall with impossible cavities that form runes of the five fold court across the body of the alembic ending at the spout.
System: Addition of two to four potions or mixtures of the same type to increase duration Refining potions requires a (Rank+Number of potions) difficulty roll to safely refine into a singular potion taking roughly the same amount of time it took to create the constituent potions.
Example: Speed allows the user to run twice as fast for the duration of one scene. However, this is still exhausting, and after the scene, the user makes a Stamina check (difficulty 6) or else suffer -2 on all physical die rolls due to exhaustion for the next hour. At two distilled potions increase the duration from one scene to one hour (difficulty 4), At three from one hour to six (difficulty 5), At four from six hours to a day (difficulty 6).
It really is especially since Molly has an entire hell worth of people. Granting them things like the path mastery merit so the pool of top path mages can expand from 2-5 to 500 is a big deal. That moves them from being able to fire off one major ritual with potential to go wrong every few years, to something safe to do every week.
We could also grant new wardens sphere talent in blasting magic on par with Dresden, or healing potential like Listens. Or just plain old firearms talent. Stack that with ETE and the war will swing in the WC favor hard.
And important pretty sure the way DP has been modeling things the higher levels of magic are just not possible without the accompany merit. So nobody can buy blasting 5 without also having the merit.
I've been looking for a bit, but I can't find the path mastery merit (in my defense, I'm more invested in M:t Awakening than Ascension). Could you post a site that has it/the merit, as well as some others we could gift with VEE? It'd be fun to plan, especially considering that we can get 4 motes per hour in bleach (dragon line, while sleeping) or our Hell - and VEE costs 5 Essence. Assuming Molly takes an action or so to spend 12 hours in her Hell, she can retain a bit less than half her mote pool and dump 10 motes a bit less than every 2 hours - specifically, 10 at the start, then another VEE every 1 hour 15 minutes. (Or 5 at the start, retain 13 motes for emergencies). It's something that the coffee could help with - or summoning our personal troops. Basically, which merits would you vote for us to grant our entire honor guard, or our mages?
Also, I've poked at the crafting system to see if it'll spit out a pokeball.
Form of Imminent Violence, Form of Dreams and Nightmare (2)
Private Idaho is 3
Soul snare is 3
8 points
9 for 4, 7 for 3
Add mystic fortification (1 point)
Boom. Pokeball. (Knife ball?)
It'd easier to do if I drop the Forms of Dreams and Nightmares (Holden insists that Soul Snare use FoIV, and it needs to kill the foes). Frustrating, and it basically makes it just a knife that devours souls - but the Private Idaho helps keep a lot of them, for if we run into more servants of Mikaboshi or weird wizard-made spirit monsters that are too weak for crafting, but are useful for a distraction.
I mean, I guess ripping out Cowl's soul could have let us loot his corpse and interrogate his mind… but he'd try and manipulate us, and it's better just to kill him, really.
Glancing down you ask a question, like a bird on winds ethereal your mind's eye flies and thence you see it. Outwardly it still bears the shape of a man, a flesh-puppet in the shape of a fallen hero, the first to be taken by the alien hunger and be worn by it, the paths they walked, the rivers they drank from, the way their language shaped their face all fallen into empty night, false seeming now dressed in the garb of of red and green and gold, in bard of a younger people, seeking who it may devour. Raised high above the head of a kneeling man it holds a bleeding a heart, still beating weakly allowing the blood slowly dribble onto his head.
The First Parasite allows the blood to slowly dribble onto the head of the man the supplicant whose face you recognize, Martin and he speaks, words in an unfamiliar tongue, stolen as all its finery and all its might. If the day should come that you would stand in truth before the thief who calls itself Kukulcan you will try to end it and yet you cannot but pity its empty hunger.
Unworthy to be called a king of any hue Majesty, Usum's words drift into your consciousness. This time you have no urge to argue.
As you watch on in disgust a single clawed finger pierces the flesh-mask replacing the human digit drawing a line across his palm from which drips a viscous red ichor that seems loath to fall from the wound. But fall it does in accordance to the rules of some ritual you can only guess at, mixing the blood of the dying as it falls into Martin's mouth. Wouldn't that make a full vampire? One cannot help but wonder. The timing would have to be perfect, trusting that, it's... a kind of faith. That at least seems genuine, more's the pity.
That's an answer of sorts, certainly if anyone could feel blood of their blood being unmade it would be the first of them, but how on Earth did Martin get from willing supplicant before the seat of the Red King to Fellowship veteran? For a moment you doubt your judgement, maybe he didn't, maybe he's just playing the long game? But then you remember his Hunger is gone, that moment of shock impossible to fake. For that to be true he has to knowingly serve me not the one who gave him the poisoned 'gift'.
On the drive home between one song and the next when all you can hear if the rumble of Black Rider's engine and the sound of his wheels on the road you wonder if you can use that. Not the sympathetic link, not the magic, power rarely flows uphill, but the wounded pride the betrayal must cause. After all if a worm should pretend to be god for a thousand years than its wormy heart would be pierced by supposed blasphemy just the same.
What do you do next?
[] Spend some time with your family
[] Finish making and presenting the Book of Laws
[] Get to know Maggie, the kid's been inside your soul, but she's barely said a dozen words to you
[] Write in
OOC: I know this is very short, but musings on the nature of the Red King did not really fit in the same update as any of the rest of the stuff you might to to wrap up the month.
Martin got turned by the very first Rampire am I reading this right? So then Martin is a valid Crown foci for the Red King?
There's some implication here that it's either or? Let's finish up the politics first in the aftermath of it all before the dust settles too much. Maggie is weird, probably just intimidated, plenty of time to get to know her later though.
[X] Finish making and presenting the Book of Laws
If it's not either or and time allows for both.
[X] Finish making and presenting the Book of Laws
-[X] Get to know Maggie, the kid's been inside your soul, but she's barely said a dozen words to you
Maggie is Dresden's kid, let him spend time with her. Also, I have to wonder - what would the combination of Dresden, Tiffany, the god we rescued and Ebeneezer be able to do to Red King if provided with extracted and preserved blood parasite of his making. That should be a very potent arcane link, and it's fair game, I say, to pull reverse Chichen Itza on Red King.
It looks like he was never really into it to begin with if he resisted completely turning while being the Red King's first victim. The Red King fumbled bad to have his first Rampire not even turn all the way then revolt. Still missing some pieces here but we can use Martin as a Crown focus for the Red King later.
She tends to get a lot of successes, usually whilst freaking out about Molly wanting to do a thing/being weird.
She was relatively accepting with the bleach (and that was something lethal to humans), freaked out a bit over the clones… and that's all fine.
But she's Michael's wife, and - for example - she objected to Molly going to Mikaboshi's hell with the Hope-plague. Is it reasonable to fear for her daughter? Sure! Is she ultimately an obstacle makes my soul die a little whenever she rears her head? Yup!
Part of this is my own issues, but 'good dramas' or no, her throwing 20 successes at us to prevent us from using MiM is irritating.
Your bothered because shes written as caring mother instead of a robot? This is simply a consequence of not playing as a character with two murderhobo parents or no parents at all Bruce Wayne style.
Your bothered because shes written as caring mother instead of a robot? This is simply a consequence of not playing as a character with two murderhobo parents or no parents at all Bruce Wayne style.
Notice that we go on to use Murder is Meat whenever we want to.
I don't want to put words in @boo600 's mouth but I do understand what he's talking about every time Charity on screen we seem to be dealing with warnings from her, over protection from her or actively attempting to comfort or coddle her which creates a distinctly negative impression even if every single one of those instances is reasonable.
The fact that Molly canonically feels resentment worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as her love for her mom doesn't help.
In my mind it's only because she only appears so very rarely that I'm not more irritated with her presence but I do understand what they're getting at if that is what they're getting at. Though the fact that we don't spend any of our waking hours in that house and we only sleep 4 hours a week says quite a bit as well.
In my mind it's only because she only appears so very rarely that I'm not more irritated with her presence but I do understand what they're getting at if that is what they're getting at. Though the fact that we don't spend any of our waking hours in that house and we only sleep 4 hours a week says quite a bit as well.
We do spend some of our waking hours in the house. Molly's family is there, we get scenes with them in the house from time to time since Molly likes spending time with her family, hence the option being presented with the current vote. And it's not every time she's on-screen I don't think she went underground to help her feed ghouls with the idea of protecting Molly from them exactly so much as wanting to be involved which is why she made food for them. That would've been a job for Micheal if her intent was to be "overprotective".
Anyway I'm not blind. I understand what he's saying. If Charity wasn't written as a concerned mother and accepted everything that's been going on immediately rather than having an acclimation period to her daughter Exalting and the resulting out of context shenanigans y'all would be less bothered.
I don't want to put words in @boo600 's mouth but I do understand what he's talking about every time Charity on screen we seem to be dealing with warnings from her, over protection from her or actively attempting to comfort or coddle her which creates a distinctly negative impression even if every single one of those instances is reasonable.
The fact that Molly canonically feels resentment worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as her love for her mom doesn't help.
In my mind it's only because she only appears so very rarely that I'm not more irritated with her presence but I do understand what they're getting at if that is what they're getting at. Though the fact that we don't spend any of our waking hours in that house and we only sleep 4 hours a week says quite a bit as well.
Basically. You've got my dislike down pat. Some of it is acclimation, and that's acceptable (if frustrating). Some of it is based in her absolute rejection of Magic - a desire for Molly to 'fix' herself by rejecting this awful part of herself that feels very… off. And some of it is just smothering in a way that hurts.
Again, some of this is personal, but it does affect my enjoyment of the quest (and thus my desire to leave/take the GED, although we've invested enough actions that I suppose there's not much point in cutting PODS off before the finale). Sorry to drag it back up, but I finally noticed I was quoted (I have a huge backlog, even if this quest is a current priority) and wanted to respond.
Anyway I'm not blind. I understand what he's saying. If Charity wasn't written as a concerned mother and accepted everything that's been going on immediately rather than having an acclimation period to her daughter Exalting and the resulting out of context shenanigans y'all would be less bothered.
No to be honest I'm relatively okay with it I just don't like her as a person. Every interaction with her is always seemingly on a hair trigger the fact that the last couple of interactions we've had with her are comforting her or her being exasperated with us for existing in a way that isn't standard human is irritating it doesn't matter that it's reasonable it doesn't stop being irritating.
Her having an acclimation period is completely fine. There's just a lot of baggage that's around charity that makes her both a hypocrite and awful to be around as a person. The fact that she had magic and threw it away and has this expectation of Molly that she do the same is one irritating, two we know out of character it's not going to work which makes it considerably even more annoying than the already irritating aspect of expecting someone to Cripple themselves because of your phobia.
Charity is a good person she's just not a particularly nice person as far as manner goes the fact of the matter is she drove her daughter out of her house in Canon straight up there was no almost leaving about it in this Quest the reasons we stayed were partially out of character. In character wise Molly if she became an exalted would just leave as well the difference between being a wizard and an exalted functionally speaking is that you have an easier time making your own living as an exalted.
Basically. You've got my dislike down pat. Some of it is acclimation, and that's acceptable (if frustrating). Some of it is based in her absolute rejection of Magic - a desire for Molly to 'fix' herself by rejecting this awful part of herself that feels very… off. And some of it is just smothering in a way that hurts.
Again, some of this is personal, but it does affect my enjoyment of the quest (and thus my desire to leave/take the GED, although we've invested enough actions that I suppose there's not much point in cutting PODS off before the finale). Sorry to drag it back up, but I finally noticed I was quoted (I have a huge backlog, even if this quest is a current priority) and wanted to respond.
To be fair to Charity her position on magic in general is shifting. It's not like she feels the same about it now as she did a year ago, but the problem is that Molly's powers are growing apace with that adaptation and they are the powers of an infernal exalted, inhuman to the core, weapons of domination and transmutation meant to warp the very fabric of the world.
Charity is a good person she's just not a particularly nice person as far as manner goes the fact of the matter is she drove her daughter out of her house in Canon straight up there was no almost leaving about it in this Quest the reasons we stayed were partially out of character
Charity has an issue with magic because of her trauma. She doesn't want her kids to go through that. Remember what Molly did when she was out of the house after running away?
She mind fucked Rosie and opened herself up to going warlock. Not to say that Charity's method of protection in this respect was entirely rational but considering what happened when Molly got into it which led up to her facing the prospect of execution by the Council that kind of proves her worries completely justified.
She didn't have much in the way of resources to help Molly out with coming into her magic and she doesn't think much of Dresden which is fair. How she went about it wasn't ideal and ultimately backfired but she worked with what she had. As we all have to.
I'm actually a bit surprised this is an option - it's a 4 dot splendor. I would have expected to have to wait until the Forge is complete to start making it.
She didn't have much in the way of resources to help Molly out with coming into her magic and she doesn't think much of Dresden which is fair. How she went about it wasn't ideal and ultimately backfired but she worked with what she had. As we all have to.
I don't want to get into this discussion because my opinion about Charity's behavior is decidedly negative (whether justified by IC or not) but that's a lie, right? Michael or the Priest who was the Inquisitor must have had contacts with other mages or even ways to get in touch with the Council itself if necessary. She didn't seek this because she was trying to make things go back to how she thought they should be because of past trauma.
So no, I believe that saying that she used everything she could to help Molly is false.
I'm actually a bit surprised this is an option - it's a 4 dot splendor. I would have expected to have to wait until the Forge is complete to start making it.
