How much XP will it be to start reducing the nightmares?
Maybe when we have some downtime we start talking with people and maybe net some XP to get rid of it, kind of like specialized XP for training?
Third dot of Qiao of the Meng is Nightmare Exorcism, where you relive a traumatic memory in order to remove the emotional attachment to it. The description explicitly says that getting four or more successes on the activation roll (which is an Occult roll, so Excellency applies) can remove derangements, which the Nightmares flaw counts as, I believe. So by RAW (and arguably Rules As Intended), we should be able to get rid of the flaw using that ability. As appropriate for a power titled "Nightmare Exorcism."
So, 12 XP, and we may or may not be able to remove the Vengeful flaw as part of the bargain, but we have to get the first two dots of Meng, first, which we were going to do anyway, because it's the best temp willpower regen we have available from any source I can find.
Edit: And honestly, bending your phenomenal cosmic powers in secret arts taught by strange monks to deal with your trauma by magically editing your own mind and memories instead of just getting therapy and dealing with your emotional problems like a normal person is pretty on-brand for the Exalted, really, so we would be continuing the theme.
Molly grew up in and lives in a modern popculture milieu. The same way everyone who has seen a vampire movie knows that vamps drink blood, abhor garlic, burn in sunlight, and can be staked, everyone who's seen movies with Asian martial arts knows of secret monasteries and hidden masters teaching secret martial arts to only the worthy, and some of the ootential conflicts that break out upon proliferation.
She's not stupid. Its implausible that she's going to attempt to proliferate this stuff without asking.
Its just a pick up the phone question.
Especially given that she is not being taught how any nonExalted would be.
We DONT want to kill Mab. She's the lynchpin of reality's defense against the Outsiders. If someone tried to kill her it would be in our interests, and those of the rest of the world, to keep her alive. Her current immediate successor is Maeve. You DONT want Maeve. Believe me. For many, many reasons.
Making powerful enemies and changing the world is where the fun starts in Exalted.
I would be in favor of opposing Winter even if I knew with certainty that killing Mab would lead to an Outsider-invasion next tuesday.
At least we would have wrought great and terrible changes upon the world.
It's too bad Mab isn't a more whimsical sort of fey; the way you phrased this brought to mind an image of her handing over a silver dollar with Harry's face on one side and a pentacle surrounding the last building he burned down on the other whenever she cashes in a debt.
The look on his face would be amazing.
On a more serious note, I'd say you're generally correct but that it's worth noting she running these jobs in part to manipulate Harry into winter's camp.Mab isn't going to waste his debt, but that doesn't necessarily mean she wouldn't spend it on jobs of lower priority that better suit her long term goals for him.
Alternatively, she just told him that she'd overlook his throwing Summer Fire into Winter's Heartspring.
No debts written off.
The events of Proven Guilty, where Dresden led a strike team into the Winter Court's capital are barely a month ago.
He has good reason to fear Mab holding a grudge, and acting on it; her reputation does not paint her as forgiving.
In canon, Dresden would not see Mab again for two years, until the events of Small Favor.
Here, I suspect Mab showing up in Harry's office barely a month later gave him a heart attack.
In the supernatural, our reputation determines who and what will deal with us.
A reputation for screwing over people and organizations who helped us by lending out sections of their heritage makes it that less likely anyone else will. We already work against a social malus due to the nature of our power to a whole bunch of people, one we invested a maxed out Mentor background to mitigate.
Making powerful enemies and changing the world is where the fun starts in Exalted.
I would be in favor of opposing Winter even if I knew with certainty that killing Mab would lead to an Outsider-invasion next tuesday.
At least we would have wrought great and terrible changes upon the world.
I like society.
Its where we keep our stuff. I have zero interest in trashing it as a flex, or ruling over the ashes.
And I see no benefit in going out of our way to make enemies when we will accumulate them just by existing.
That general sentiment is part of why Creation ended up in such a fucked up state in the backstory of Ex2 and ExWoD.
I have zero interest in repeating that here. Believing that kicking out one of the structural pillars of this AU setting is an option just suggests that you dont recall what the endgame is, or what consequences are.
The death toll of Battlegrounds alone was 60,000 people, and that was just Ethniu and the Fomor trying to trash one major coastal city as a statement and failing. And that was just one failed Outsider gambit in canon. Nevermind the deaths of the Vampire War over ten years, also an Outsider gambit.
Molly would have no interest in being responsible for any such thing, and would enthusiastically shank anyone she thought was trying to set that up.
Adhoc vote count started by uju32 on Sep 22, 2022 at 12:50 AM, finished with 156 posts and 19 votes.
[X] "Before we do anything else, we need to know what Mab intends to do with him once she finds him. Thankfully, I have just the tool for the job. Now, tell me - was there any one or anything else present during your deal with Winter Queen? Mouse? MIster?" Use the Crown on MIster to find what Mab is planning to do with the Ankou if and once they are located.
[X] "It's too soon to try to plan around having to deal with Mab on top of the rest of this mess. Why don't we just focus on stopping the necromancer plot for now, and play the rest by ear as the situation develops? I know that's probably not how you normally do things, but it's been working for me so far." And should we need to knock Harry out before he can summon Mab, we can make that decision if and when it becomes necessary.
I like society.
Its where we keep our stuff. I have zero interest in trashing it as a flex, or ruling over the ashes.
And I see no benefit in going out of our way to make enemies when we will accumulate them just by existing.
What I like about the Exalted base-setting is that you have the most powerful empire in Creation as your enemy just by being a Celestial Exalted.
And you can at least try to bring it down.
What I like about the Exalted base-setting is that you have the most powerful empire in Creation as your enemy just by being a Celestial Exalted.
And you can at least try to bring it down.
fairly sure we are actively trying to preserve reality also not to mention mabs position being empty can possibly end with not just outsider bullshit also a super winter.
fairly sure we are actively trying to preserve reality also not to mention mabs position being empty can possibly end with not just outsider bullshit also a super winter.
In the supernatural, our reputation determines who and what will deal with us.
A reputation for screwing over people and organizations who helped us by lending out sections of their heritage makes it that less likely anyone else will. We already work against a social malus due to the nature of our power to a whole bunch of people, one we invested a maxed out Mentor background to mitigate.
Yes, but your interpretation of how monks would react is your interpretation. I didn't get the feeling of "we are only teaching you as a great exception to our rules, normally this knowledge would only be shared with other members of our order, if you spread it further we'll be greatly offended, even if the ones you teach are carefully selected" from what I read. So, yes, we should ask.
Killing Mab does not inherently weaken Winter, since her Mantle moves on undiminished.
The actions of a less capable Queen of Winter can indeed weaken Winter, but that's not our fault, it's Mab's successor's fault.
Killing Mab does not inherently weaken Winter, since her Mantle moves on undiminished.
The actions of a less capable Queen of Winter can indeed weaken Winter, but that's not our fault, it's Mab's successor's fault.
If we were an Abyssal we could propably True-Kill someone like Mab with Mantle and all and permanently leave a gaping hole in the current set-up of universal stability.
But alas we can't.
And even if we could, it would propably get fixed by the White God or something like that.
That general sentiment is part of why Creation ended up in such a fucked up state in the backstory of Ex2 and ExWoD.
I have zero interest in repeating that here. Believing that kicking out one of the structural pillars of this AU setting is an option just suggests that you dont recall what the endgame is, or what consequences are.
As I see it, every quest is somewhere in between a game and a story.
A game you want to win, a story you want to see go in interesting directions even if it is objectivly worse for the main-character or the world around them.
Since DP's quests are mechanic-heavy and allow for a lot of decisions (rather than just a few pivotal ones like some other Quests on the Forum) it's easy to see it as just a game and pursue the "better" outcome.
But I still try to see it primarily as a story and as such, if it is within Molly's character and appropriate to the circumstances I will vote to do things that may lead to Winter becoming more of an enemy to us.
If that enemity ultimatly has extreme consequences, either our death or damage to the current order of the universe, that's fine, as long as it results in fun until then.
Playing things overly careful and only engaging with enemies when you have all possible and some impossible advantages on your sight is a relativly boring approach to me.
It does not matter if Molly's family are killed and the world ends in nuclear fire, as long as we the players have fun.
I do get what you are saying but keep in mind that while we the players have agency, it is still Molly taking the actions. So she is not going to take actions that may endanger her family and loved ones.
It does not matter if Molly's family are killed and the world ends in nuclear fire, as long as we the players have fun.
I do get what you are saying but keep in mind that while we the players have agency, it is still Molly taking the actions. So she is not going to take actions that may endanger her family and loved ones.
It does not matter if Molly's family are killed and the world ends in nuclear fire, as long as we the players have fun.
I do get what you are saying but keep in mind that while we the players have agency, it is still Molly taking the actions. So she is not going to take actions that may endanger her family and loved ones.
That's not 100% what I mean.
Of course I want Molly to act IC and that includes protecting her family. I would never vote for a step that would, by IC-perspective lead to our certain death or the end of the world or such.
However, in this situation I think it is IC to refuse giving anyone up to Winter, given Molly's own experiences.
And I will not be held back from that by the OOC worry that this is suboptimal for the world, or what would be IC-cowardice of Molly being too afraid to make an enemy of Winter.
Okay, but because this is a quest, we get to vote for what kind of story we want this to be. And I don't want this to be a tragic story where a girl ends up causing the destruction of everything she holds dear through her own folly. There are already more than enough stories like that in my opinion.
I want this to be a story where a world teetering on the brink of disaster, with myriad enemies plotting its downfall in a number of ways from the shadows, is looked at by one Molly Carpenter. And I want her to say "No." And because of GLORIOUS SOLAR INFERNAL BULLPUCKEY, the world has to listen.
(Also, I love things like that hint of things like the golden dawn cape of the Glorious Apocalypse Princess, or the sun seen in our palace in the Fivefold Courts, that says some small corner of our Exaltation didn't quite get the memo that it wasn't supposed to be Solar anymore, and Molly regularly breaking bread with agents of Heaven is strengthening that identity crisis. It's a nice angle to go on, and pretty unique as well. Just saying.)
Okay, but because this is a quest, we get to vote for what kind of story we want this to be. And I don't want this to be a tragic story where a girl ends up causing the destruction of everything she holds dear through her own folly. There are already more than enough stories like that in my opinion.
I want this to be a story where a world teetering on the brink of disaster, with myriad enemies plotting its downfall in a number of ways from the shadows, is looked at by one Molly Carpenter. And I want her to say "No." And because of GLORIOUS SOLAR INFERNAL BULLPUCKEY, the world has to listen.
(Also, I love things like that hint of things like the golden dawn cape of the Glorious Apocalypse Princess, or the sun seen in our palace in the Fivefold Courts, that says some small corner of our Exaltation didn't quite get the memo that it wasn't supposed to be Solar anymore, and Molly regularly breaking bread with agents of Heaven strengthening that identity crisis. It's a nice angle to go on, and pretty unique as well. Just saying.)
We don't seem to be doing that here though.
What I like about the Exalted base-setting is that you have the most powerful empire in Creation as your enemy just by being a Celestial Exalted.And you can at least try to bring it down.
fairly sure we are actively trying to preserve reality also not to mention mabs position being empty can possibly end with not just outsider bullshit also a super winter.
The Faerie Courts are the Dresdenverse's immune system against things a lot worse than vampires.
While the Queens are of the same strength, the Winter Court is vastly larger and stronger as a whole, but the vast majority of its strength is directed outwards, at the Gates to keep the Outsiders out. Its their purpose, and it shapes their nature.
The Summer Court's role is to restrain whats left of Winter's strength from hurting the rest of the world.
Most of the world has only ever seen a fraction of Winter's true strength, and its just from that fraction that they consider Winter to be THE supernatural heavyweight.
A weakened Winter would probably result in a sudden and drastic decrease in world population levels as the Outsiders proceed to make it clear just how important Winter's strength actually is.
Assuming the White God doesnt take a hand, of course.
Yes, but your interpretation of how monks would react is your interpretation. I didn't get the feeling of "we are only teaching you as a great exception to our rules, normally this knowledge would only be shared with other members of our order, if you spread it further we'll be greatly offended, even if the ones you teach are carefully selected" from what I read. So, yes, we should ask.
Not my interpretation, and more an observation from our first encounter with it:
Thankfully the younger monks prove startlingly adept in using the zip-ties they find in there to tie up their former owners though Brother Divsimar looks wan and shaky, though you cannot see a mark on him.
Noticing your worried look he explains: "One only holds so much chi and it is not given to mortals to respire it from the world as the Wan Xian once did, given their fate it is perhaps for the best that we should be do limited."
The name rings a bell not faint, but loud and clear in your mind. The Ten Thousand Immortals gifted by Heaven with the power to respire chi, the lifeblood of the world that is matter energy and spirit that they might set right the paths of unsanctioned devils that plagued the world, grown arrogant in their dominion and rapacious in their power they began to take chi from life, most of all from the people they aught to have been guarding. Sweet on the lips and a black stain on the heart and how the devils laughed until the Ten Thousand became addicted to rapaciousness and from no other place could they take chi, immortal they were still but their flesh was cold and dead and their souls from Yomi Wan flew now back into the corpses, a scream on the night wind, a groaning in the earth. The Ten Thousand Demons.
"They became the Wuan Kuei, the demon people..." you trail off. Something about that story, that flash of insight, sends your stomach roiling unpleasantly and makes your throat choke up as if you are about to cry, but have no tears.
Y'all are treating this as just some new mechanical toy.
These are monks from a religious tradition.
For them this is sacred duty stuff supported by actual Occult knowledge Molly knows.
And some of the Shih arts are genuinely quite dangerous tools in their own right, especially if they get into the hands of supernaturals.
If they were given to proliferate this stuff, there would be a lot more of it around, instead of limited to a group of obscure monks.
I mean, the last time these guys trusted a bunch of white people, the SS-Ahnenerbe stole their ancestors bones.
So yes, if we have any interest in teaching others, ask.
Even in the absence of their fraught history with outsiders, its basic courtesy.
Never single-handedly. Killing Mab does not inherently weaken Winter, since her Mantle moves on undiminished.
The actions of a less capable Queen of Winter can indeed weaken Winter, but that's not our fault, it's Mab's successor's fault.
Thats like saying that replacing an experienced general with a noob does not weaken an army, because their rank is the same.
But in this case its worse.
Mab's heir is Maeve. Maeve is Nemesis-infected. Nemesis is an Outsider. Winter's purpose is to defend against Outsiders.
Things happening with Winter have grave impact on everybody else's basic survival. Because Winter is all that stands between the world and the Outsiders doomg their level best to destroy everything.
Even before the Outsiders managed to pull off the coup of subverting the second Sidhe Lady in a row(first was Aurora), Maeve had apparently been neglecting a good chunk of her duties for over a century, with consequences we only see when Molly is tasked to begin cleaning them up after she became Winter Lady in canon.
Mab has been carrying the bulk of the executive duties of the Winter Court for decades.
That alone would make any transition fraught.
Then its Word of Jim that the last time there was a change in Faerie Queens, things got awful in the wizard world.
Molly will very much not thank you for it.
The Outsiders want to destroy everything. Everything. Think the Neverborn from Ex2.
Empty Night is apparently a wizard curse for a reason. Because it literally refers to an empty night where everything is unmade.
Basically, by attempting to weaken Winter or Mab, you materially weaken everyone's defenses.
If I understand the current thrust of things, our current plan is to gather information on the situation in hopes of figuring a way to thread the needle?
So thinking ahead a bit, once we get the Mab side of the puzzle we should look into the Arawn side too. There are questions we could ask Lydia first of all. We haven't really dug into the events leading up to her possession yet, along with any hints she can give us about Capricorpus's plans.
We could also ask if she has any pictures of her residence sorted on her phone, and then use it as a vector for our crown to target Arawn for a question. We could use Lydia directly I guess but the residence seems like a better thing to burn.
Also thinking back, at the time when Lydia immediately got the name Kemmler when we were explaining things it was a sign that she was more supernaturally informed then we had thought. But now looking back with her dad's association, I want to know what he told her about Kemmler.
The Faerie Courts are the Dresdenverse's immune system against things a lot worse than vampires.
While the Queens are of the same strength, the Winter Court is vastly larger and stronger as a whole, but the vast majority of its strength is directed outwards, at the Gates to keep the Outsiders out. Its their purpose, and it shapes their nature.
The Summer Court's role is to restrain whats left of Winter's strength from hurting the rest of the world.
Most of the world has only ever seen a fraction of Winter's true strength, and its just from that fraction that they consider Winter to be THE supernatural heavyweight.
A weakened Winter would probably result in a sudden and drastic decrease in world population levels as the Outsiders proceed to make it clear just how important Winter's strength actually is.
Assuming the White God doesnt take a hand, of course.
