OctarineShrike
Avatar of Mandos
Honestly given Molly's history she could be argued to have a dot or two of streetwise she forgot during the Exaltation.
Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)
- Thread starter DragonParadox
- Start date
- Crossover Fantasy
JayTar
Idea briefcase
So question that may have been answered, but can we benefit from normal mortal style training?
Not what we are doing with the martial arts, but like normal schooling? If say, we get that cloning charm and send a clone to university (With regular updates and re-merging) would we actually benefit from it at all? Or are we just going to school for the diploma and the social connections?
Not what we are doing with the martial arts, but like normal schooling? If say, we get that cloning charm and send a clone to university (With regular updates and re-merging) would we actually benefit from it at all? Or are we just going to school for the diploma and the social connections?
Exaltations do not work like that. Even maximally bound 2E Abyssals still have their free-will intact.
IIRC, we get XP specifically for what we're being taught, up to half the XP for the dot.
So, we'd get up to 1 XP for a dot in Academics. Possibly 1 XP for Athletics if she has a gym class.
If she goes to university, it'll depend on what kind of classes she takes. Maybe half the cost for a dot of Computers, or Technology (if she tries for an engineering degree.)
As I've said, the fluff for the cloning charm is a major turnoff for me, with the potential for erasing an individual from existence.
- Location
- washington
I would warn against being too broad guys sometimes being bad at certain things is something you should accept. Just get good in a few things please. Get others to help your weaknesses.
Unfortunately, it's part of the nature of a quest, so it's a case of 'designed by committee.'
- Location
- Germany
I think that bonus is only for things we couldn't learn normally.
Usually you'd have to train things to even be allowed to spend XP on them.
We could circumvent that if we had more party-members.
In his other quests DP has allowed us to influence the build of our companions, which means the PC doesn't have to be good at everything.
I'm still hoping to get Lydia on a more permanent basis than the occasionally helping each other out we have with Harry.
Ok, background lore dump as I understand it:
In the time before time itself, before cause and event existed, within the primordial chaos of the Wyld, new types of beings spontaneously appeared. They were primordials, and among their numbers were Principle of Hierarchy, Embodiment of Rulership, and the King of all Craftsmen. Joining together they made Creation - the anchor point of Reality, which imposed the fundamental principle of Consequences upon all the infinite chaos. In the process they invented stuff like linear time and death.
The Creation was populated by mortals, who were designed as self-replicating prayer machines. Gods and god-like beings, including Unconquered Sun, the embodiment of all virtues and the perfect being, were created to take care of Creation and make it run smoothly while Primordials enjoyed their leisure activities.
Primordials were cruel masters to both gods, who were created with an inbuilt geass of absolute obedience against their masters, and mortals alike. They were also cruel to each other, and especially Autochton, the King of All Craftsmen. Eventually that led to gods and Autochton conspiring to overthrow Primordials and usurp the rulership of Creation. In order to do so, they needed weapons that could fight Primordials on equal footing, could kill the beings who didn't possess the concept of death, and couldn't be turned off or against them via the inbuilt geass all gods had. Thus, they chose to empower mortals, which were so far below Primordial notice that they were never geassed to start with.
Autochton, in a fit of genius and madness unseen before or since, created several hundred Exaltations. Exaltations were spiritual super-weapons which held the following properties:
1) They were indestructible. Full stop. Nothing ever could destroy or lessen an exaltation. Creation itself could be destroyed, the Wyld could be drained down the Maw of Oblivion, and exaltations would still remain intact. The exaltations could be added to, twisted and changed, but not destroyed.
2) They opened an infinite potential for spiritual and power growth to their bearers. Including allowing them to kill immortals.
3) They would automatically select their bearer based upon once-programmed criteria, without outside input. This meant that the gods couldn't be ordered to select Primordial loyalists as exaltation hosts.
4) The exaltations didn't constrain their users. The user's free will remained their own. This was done so gods couldn't be ordered to order exalted to stand down.
The exaltations were flavored by Incarna - the greatest of gods, to hold the themes similar to those who empowered them. The greatest of all types of exaltations were Solar Exaltations, made in the image of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, the embodiment of perfection and all virtues.
Time passed. Exalted succeeded in their rebellion. They took the rulership of Creation in their hands, with gods taking place of Primordials - essentially retiring from running the world to have fun. The defeated primordials were lessened, twisted by deaths of part of their souls, and became Yozi, forced to take binding oaths of surrender and confined to hell, made out of the body of Malfeas, who was once Theion, the concept of King.
More time passed, and exalted grew into tyrants. Part of this was human nature, when a couple hundred of people are made immortal and special and into god-kings. Part of it, possibly a larger part (I hope so, for I am optimistic about human nature) was the Great Curse. The Great Curse was a combination of curses levied by each of the Primordials killed during the Primordial War as they were killed. It twisted the exalted, amplifying their worst traits. In a type of exalted called Sidereals, designed as "fate ninjas", wise advisors and viziers to solar god kings, the Great Curse created the tendency for group think. The more sidereals plotted together, as they were designed, the more unhigned their plans became.
Thus came the Usurpation, in which Solar exlated and their Lunar mates (another type of exaltation) were overthrown by Dragonblooded (a bloodline passed lesser type of exaltations which had unlimited numbers and were designed as footsoldiers and lieutenants of solar armies) with the help of Sidereals. The Solar and Lunar exaltations were confined to Jade Prison, a type of confinement device capable of holding them so they couldn't find new hosts.
Even more time passed, and Yozi, together with Neverborn (the killed Primordials, who couldn't die completely when they were killed because death wasn't designed to handle Primordials) broke into the Jade Prison, releasing the exaltations, and stealing some of them. The exaltations that went to Neverborn essentially got polarity flipped from Solar Glory to Oblivion Doom. Thus were the Abyssal exalted made from Solar exaltations. Their purpose was to destroy the Creation so thoroughly in hopes that this would allow Neverborn to completely die.
The solar exaltations that came to be into Yozi possession got a more thorough makeover. The exaltations couldn't be lessened, but they could be added to. Thus, Yozi infused them with their own themes, powers, and concepts. They added demon advisors to the exaltations (that's Usum). What they didn't was to constrain exalted free will. This was because the position of Yozi was a mirror image of the gods' position at the time of their rebellion - they had Oaths of Surrender forced onto them, and if Infernal exalts could be ordered by them, they would be ordered to stand down. The goal of creating Infernal exalts was to free the Yozi and return them to their place as rulers of Creation.
What Yozi didn't realize was that with time, as Infernal exalted grew in power, they would absorb more and more of Yozi charms, and start to create their own. The end result of this could be transcendence, where an exalt cast aside their exaltation and became a Primordial. A new one, unchained by oaths of surrender, with their own new themes.
The Creation was populated by mortals, who were designed as self-replicating prayer machines. Gods and god-like beings, including Unconquered Sun, the embodiment of all virtues and the perfect being, were created to take care of Creation and make it run smoothly while Primordials enjoyed their leisure activities.
Primordials were cruel masters to both gods, who were created with an inbuilt geass of absolute obedience against their masters, and mortals alike. They were also cruel to each other, and especially Autochton, the King of All Craftsmen. Eventually that led to gods and Autochton conspiring to overthrow Primordials and usurp the rulership of Creation. In order to do so, they needed weapons that could fight Primordials on equal footing, could kill the beings who didn't possess the concept of death, and couldn't be turned off or against them via the inbuilt geass all gods had. Thus, they chose to empower mortals, which were so far below Primordial notice that they were never geassed to start with.
Autochton, in a fit of genius and madness unseen before or since, created several hundred Exaltations. Exaltations were spiritual super-weapons which held the following properties:
1) They were indestructible. Full stop. Nothing ever could destroy or lessen an exaltation. Creation itself could be destroyed, the Wyld could be drained down the Maw of Oblivion, and exaltations would still remain intact. The exaltations could be added to, twisted and changed, but not destroyed.
2) They opened an infinite potential for spiritual and power growth to their bearers. Including allowing them to kill immortals.
3) They would automatically select their bearer based upon once-programmed criteria, without outside input. This meant that the gods couldn't be ordered to select Primordial loyalists as exaltation hosts.
4) The exaltations didn't constrain their users. The user's free will remained their own. This was done so gods couldn't be ordered to order exalted to stand down.
The exaltations were flavored by Incarna - the greatest of gods, to hold the themes similar to those who empowered them. The greatest of all types of exaltations were Solar Exaltations, made in the image of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, the embodiment of perfection and all virtues.
Time passed. Exalted succeeded in their rebellion. They took the rulership of Creation in their hands, with gods taking place of Primordials - essentially retiring from running the world to have fun. The defeated primordials were lessened, twisted by deaths of part of their souls, and became Yozi, forced to take binding oaths of surrender and confined to hell, made out of the body of Malfeas, who was once Theion, the concept of King.
More time passed, and exalted grew into tyrants. Part of this was human nature, when a couple hundred of people are made immortal and special and into god-kings. Part of it, possibly a larger part (I hope so, for I am optimistic about human nature) was the Great Curse. The Great Curse was a combination of curses levied by each of the Primordials killed during the Primordial War as they were killed. It twisted the exalted, amplifying their worst traits. In a type of exalted called Sidereals, designed as "fate ninjas", wise advisors and viziers to solar god kings, the Great Curse created the tendency for group think. The more sidereals plotted together, as they were designed, the more unhigned their plans became.
Thus came the Usurpation, in which Solar exlated and their Lunar mates (another type of exaltation) were overthrown by Dragonblooded (a bloodline passed lesser type of exaltations which had unlimited numbers and were designed as footsoldiers and lieutenants of solar armies) with the help of Sidereals. The Solar and Lunar exaltations were confined to Jade Prison, a type of confinement device capable of holding them so they couldn't find new hosts.
Even more time passed, and Yozi, together with Neverborn (the killed Primordials, who couldn't die completely when they were killed because death wasn't designed to handle Primordials) broke into the Jade Prison, releasing the exaltations, and stealing some of them. The exaltations that went to Neverborn essentially got polarity flipped from Solar Glory to Oblivion Doom. Thus were the Abyssal exalted made from Solar exaltations. Their purpose was to destroy the Creation so thoroughly in hopes that this would allow Neverborn to completely die.
The solar exaltations that came to be into Yozi possession got a more thorough makeover. The exaltations couldn't be lessened, but they could be added to. Thus, Yozi infused them with their own themes, powers, and concepts. They added demon advisors to the exaltations (that's Usum). What they didn't was to constrain exalted free will. This was because the position of Yozi was a mirror image of the gods' position at the time of their rebellion - they had Oaths of Surrender forced onto them, and if Infernal exalts could be ordered by them, they would be ordered to stand down. The goal of creating Infernal exalts was to free the Yozi and return them to their place as rulers of Creation.
What Yozi didn't realize was that with time, as Infernal exalted grew in power, they would absorb more and more of Yozi charms, and start to create their own. The end result of this could be transcendence, where an exalt cast aside their exaltation and became a Primordial. A new one, unchained by oaths of surrender, with their own new themes.
So, to summarize - Molly is not Azathoth's maidservant. She's Azathoth's heir and larval's form.
We know that other gods retained their autonomy just fine.
Specicifically, we know the Finnish goddess of death and disease Loviatar is still around and maintains a court just fine; her tenth child, the nameless demigod known as Talvi Inverno got kicked out of her court, hooks up with Kemmler for a while, and is currently pledged to Winter. And is apparently a lawyer in Chicago who shows up in the new DF novella The Law.
Timeframe suggests it was this Mab.
There were other gods and other courts.
We still dont have the full story, because other gods and pantheons seem to have managed the change of power just fine as long as they didnt do absolutely stupid shit.
It sounds like he and his court did something terminally stupid, and had to seek Winter's protection.
Just like Oberon got himself dead somehow by getting between Mab and Titania.
Arawn Death-Lord is also the primary villain of the Chronicles of Prydain fantasy series.
Once ruled over by the evil sorceress Queen Achren, Prydain is now under the authority of the just High King, a member of the family known as the Children of Don, descendants of Lady Don and her consort, Belin. The High King and his warriors, known as the Sons of Don, are based in the stronghold called Caer Dathyl. The rest of Prydain is divided into territories and minor kingdoms (called cantrevs) ruled by many lower kings who owe their loyalty to the High King. A collection of villages called the Free Commots exist outside any cantrev's jurisdiction, answering only to the High King.
The evil Queen Achren was overthrown by her consort and student in magic, Arawn. Taking the Iron Crown, Arawn became master of the fortress of Annuvin, the Land of the Dead. Known as the Death-Lord, Arawn's warriors include the "Cauldron-Born" (undead soldiers reanimated by the magical Black Cauldron), the fearsome war commander called the Horned King, and the bloodthirsty Huntsmen of Annuvin (who in death transfer their power to their surviving comrades). Arawn also corrupts a race of birds into the Gwythaints, monstrous airborne agents. When the first novel begins, Arawn and the Horned King are making new plans to conquer Prydain.
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Arawn, the Death-Lord. The main antagonist of the series, Arawn is originally a mortal man. He gains magical powers by being tutored by the evil Queen Achren during her time as ruler of Prydain. After growing powerful as her consort, Arawn overthrows Achren and takes the Iron Crown from her. After gaining possession of the Black Cauldron, he creates a powerful undead army known as the Cauldron-Born. He then attempts to conquer Prydain, often defied by the Sons of Don.
The evil Queen Achren was overthrown by her consort and student in magic, Arawn. Taking the Iron Crown, Arawn became master of the fortress of Annuvin, the Land of the Dead. Known as the Death-Lord, Arawn's warriors include the "Cauldron-Born" (undead soldiers reanimated by the magical Black Cauldron), the fearsome war commander called the Horned King, and the bloodthirsty Huntsmen of Annuvin (who in death transfer their power to their surviving comrades). Arawn also corrupts a race of birds into the Gwythaints, monstrous airborne agents. When the first novel begins, Arawn and the Horned King are making new plans to conquer Prydain.
======
Arawn, the Death-Lord. The main antagonist of the series, Arawn is originally a mortal man. He gains magical powers by being tutored by the evil Queen Achren during her time as ruler of Prydain. After growing powerful as her consort, Arawn overthrows Achren and takes the Iron Crown from her. After gaining possession of the Black Cauldron, he creates a powerful undead army known as the Cauldron-Born. He then attempts to conquer Prydain, often defied by the Sons of Don.
She becomes the monarch of a populated citystate/nationstate at Essence 3.
I suspect she needs a rather broader education than criminal justice. I'd be thinking along the lines of a double or triple major and a masters to cap it off over four or five years.
With the use of Splintered Gale clones for study and Tool Constructs for writing essays/homework it wont even be an imposition on her free time.
Its not like PI work requires a lot of qualifications.
Harry only has a GED, and a couple years work experience with Ragged Angel Investigations before becoming a PI.
Illnois PI requirements:
To be eligible for a Private Detective license, all of the following must be true:
The following experience will count toward the Private Detective eligibility requirement:
Also need to pay a 291 dollar exam fee, undergo a 20-hour training course, a 40 hour firearms course if you intend to carry arms, and to carry a million dollar liability insurance policy
privateinvestigatoredu.org
- Minimum 21 years of age.
- No felony convictions in the last 10 years.
- Not currently suffering from alcohol or substance abuse.
- Possess good moral character.
- Not been dishonorably discharged from the military.
The following experience will count toward the Private Detective eligibility requirement:
- Baccalaureate degree, or higher, in law enforcement, police science or a related field or a business degree from an accredited college or university will count for 2 years. An associate degree of the same types will count as 1 year.
- Working as a full-time employee (PERC) for a licensed private detective agency.
- An investigator for a licensed attorney, for a state, federal or local law enforcement agency, a state's attorney's office or a public defender's office.
- In-house investigative unit for a corporation having 100 or more employees
- An investigative unit for any of the armed forces of the United States.
Also need to pay a 291 dollar exam fee, undergo a 20-hour training course, a 40 hour firearms course if you intend to carry arms, and to carry a million dollar liability insurance policy
How to Become a Private Investigator in Illinois - IL | License for PI Jobs and Training School Requirements
privateinvestigatoredu.org
The only reason we would need a PI licenses would be if we intended to advertise for cases like Dresden does, which we dont. To justify the insurance policy. And maybe for general legal cover, and thats probably covered by being rich enough to put a sufficiently pugnacious law firm on retainer. Rich people rules are different from the rest of us.
1)My opinion? While school is in session?
High School
Academics. Science. Technology. Computers. Athletics.
Should provide 50% training discounts up to 2 dots, which would be College/AP class levels
After all, if you are spending eight hours there every day for most of the school year, it should count for something.
University
Academics. Science. Technology. Computers. Law. Medicine. Finance. Investigation.
While enrolled and with access to university resources and learning courses, provides 50% training discounts for 3 dots and 4 dots, which is up to Masters degree level.
Thats probably a QM decision though. And it isnt relevant to ask until schools reopen whenever they do.
2)Getting her siblings to go to school is probably a lot easier if she does.
I would be very surprised if her parents and everyone around her couldnt peer pressure her into going.
3)I read the charm text.
Its not an individual, its a created facet/template of your personality that you sacrifice so you dont die when you are killed. You can recreate it, its part of you. Like a Naruto shadow clone. And it helps multitask a bunch of things like University attendance and having all the resources thereof, while managing an inner Hell, picking up any cases, and not dying when killed.
I'd rather have the option to rebuild a personality template and re-buy a new Essence dot when some asshole shoots us in the face with an exploding bullet tailored to target Infernals from a mile away.
Better than dying.
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- Location
- Germany
That seems absurd.
How can you be a PI in a decent story without either a shady backround, a bad character or a serious issue with substance abuse?
The City Still Stands though...
They serve different purposes/niches.
The City Still Stands is a one up charm that activates once per story.
It resurrects and replenishes you, but thats it. It wont make you any stronger, so if your opponent was beefier than you were you just get killed again, or have to try to run.
And if you've already used it in that story, you're outta luck.
Splintered Gale Incarnation allows you to survive getting killed as long as you have clones and your Essence rating is 1 or more.
Like say, you got into a fight with someone way outside your weight class like Mab or Ferrovax for some reason and they splattered you. Or you had to hold the line without backup to let other people escape.
You have to sacrifice an Essence dot to use it, which you rebuy later, so it isnt cheap, but thats it.
Its your life insurance policy.
- Location
- Germany
That's not quite correct.
They serve different purposes/niches.
The City Still Stands is a one up charm that activates once per story.
It resurrects and replenishes you, but thats it. It wont make you any stronger, so if your opponent was beefier than you were you just get killed again, or have to try to run.
And if you've already used it in that story, you're outta luck.
Splintered Gale Incarnation allows you to survive getting killed as long as you have clones and your Essence rating is 1 or more.
Like say, you got into a fight with someone way outside your weight class like Mab or Ferrovax for some reason and they splattered you. Or you had to hold the line without backup to let other people escape.
You have to sacrifice an Essence dot to use it, which you rebuy later, so it isnt cheap, but thats it.
Its your life insurance policy.
It also allows us to enter Shintai instantly at no extra cost, IIRC.
Anyone who successfully sniped us will regret that, when we are suddenly several times faster and harder and more importantly forewarned.
Ok then, thanks to DP clarifying, that Arawn and the Gywnn are different, that simplifies things alot, although complicates in others in more figuring how are they rulers of the same place.
Anyway regardless of that, I have being looking into the word Ankou and what it means, thinking at first it was some species of fae which I was unaware but when investigating I found out something both fascinating and slightly horrifying. And something which makes Arawn it seems is much more important then it seems along with either being very young, very very old.
Which is that an Ankou is a servant of death in Breton, Cornish (an Ankow in Cornish), Welsh (yr Angau in Welsh) and Norman French folklore.
They are essentially the inspiration of the grim reaper which we see today. And him being the eldest of the Ankou means Arawn is the oldest grim reaper figure on the planet currently. As for how that can be the case, read word to word the description of an Ankou"s appearance.
They are described as a man or skeleton wearing a black robe and a large hat which conceals his face, or, on occasion, simply as a shadow. He wields a scythe and is said to sit atop a cart for collecting the dead, or to drive a large, black coach pulled by four black horses and accompanied by two ghostly figures on foot.
Also it seems there is both a proverb associated with it along with the fact, that every parish in Brittany is said to have its own Ankou which is significant when finding out what a parish is.
"Every parish in Brittany is said to have its own Ankou. In Breton tradition, the squealing of railway wheels outside one's home is supposed to be Karrigell an Ankou ("The Wheelbarr ow of Ankou"). Similarly, the cry of the owl is referred to as Labous an Ankou ("The Death Bird").The Ankou is also found on the baptismal font at La Martyre where he is shown holding a human head.
In Ireland, there is proverb that states, "When the Ankou comes, he will not go away empty". "
This is what a parish is essentially by the Wiki.
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or more curates, and who operates from a parish church. Historically, a parish often covered the same geographical area as a manor. Its association with the parish church remains paramount.
As for their origins, it is confusing as there are multiple origins proposed for the Ankou.
An Lastly, another detail which I found being a description of what an Ankou is by Anatole Le Braz,
Ankou is mentioned by Anatole Le Braz, a writer and collector of legends, in The Legend of Death:
The Ankou is the henchman of Death (oberour ar maro) and he is also known as the grave yard watcher, they said that he protects the graveyard and the souls around it for some unknown reason and he collects the lost souls on his land. The last dead of the year, in each parish, becomes the Ankou of his parish for all of the following year. When there has been, in a year, more deaths than usual, one says about the Ankou:– War ma fé, heman zo eun Anko drouk. ("On my faith, this one is a nasty Ankou.")
That is all the information I could find about the Ankou, primarily due to information being scarce about them. But what I can find paints and interesting picture of what Arawn being the eldest of the Ankou means conceptually. Hope this helps. If have any questions ask.
Anyway regardless of that, I have being looking into the word Ankou and what it means, thinking at first it was some species of fae which I was unaware but when investigating I found out something both fascinating and slightly horrifying. And something which makes Arawn it seems is much more important then it seems along with either being very young, very very old.
Which is that an Ankou is a servant of death in Breton, Cornish (an Ankow in Cornish), Welsh (yr Angau in Welsh) and Norman French folklore.
They are essentially the inspiration of the grim reaper which we see today. And him being the eldest of the Ankou means Arawn is the oldest grim reaper figure on the planet currently. As for how that can be the case, read word to word the description of an Ankou"s appearance.
They are described as a man or skeleton wearing a black robe and a large hat which conceals his face, or, on occasion, simply as a shadow. He wields a scythe and is said to sit atop a cart for collecting the dead, or to drive a large, black coach pulled by four black horses and accompanied by two ghostly figures on foot.
Also it seems there is both a proverb associated with it along with the fact, that every parish in Brittany is said to have its own Ankou which is significant when finding out what a parish is.
"Every parish in Brittany is said to have its own Ankou. In Breton tradition, the squealing of railway wheels outside one's home is supposed to be Karrigell an Ankou ("The Wheelbarr ow of Ankou"). Similarly, the cry of the owl is referred to as Labous an Ankou ("The Death Bird").The Ankou is also found on the baptismal font at La Martyre where he is shown holding a human head.
In Ireland, there is proverb that states, "When the Ankou comes, he will not go away empty". "
This is what a parish is essentially by the Wiki.
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or more curates, and who operates from a parish church. Historically, a parish often covered the same geographical area as a manor. Its association with the parish church remains paramount.
As for their origins, it is confusing as there are multiple origins proposed for the Ankou.
An Lastly, another detail which I found being a description of what an Ankou is by Anatole Le Braz,
Ankou is mentioned by Anatole Le Braz, a writer and collector of legends, in The Legend of Death:
The Ankou is the henchman of Death (oberour ar maro) and he is also known as the grave yard watcher, they said that he protects the graveyard and the souls around it for some unknown reason and he collects the lost souls on his land. The last dead of the year, in each parish, becomes the Ankou of his parish for all of the following year. When there has been, in a year, more deaths than usual, one says about the Ankou:– War ma fé, heman zo eun Anko drouk. ("On my faith, this one is a nasty Ankou.")
That is all the information I could find about the Ankou, primarily due to information being scarce about them. But what I can find paints and interesting picture of what Arawn being the eldest of the Ankou means conceptually. Hope this helps. If have any questions ask.
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Only if you've already been beaten down.
If you've used it previously in that story arc, it wont activate. If the person who jumped you was ready for a One Winged Angel transformation, you're still in a bad situation.Thats why the other function of Splintered Gale exists.
So if you get jumped by six Denarians in warform, you can be killed, use City Stands, be killed again, and then wakeup elsewhere and come back for a rematch, only with preptime.
- Location
- Germany
Both have their uses, but I find
"She's finally dead!" *Boss-music intensifies
more appealing for the first pick.
Also cheaper.
OK, vote closed, time to use those social stats for high stakes.
That's not what it says though.
The flavor text just says she flays herself apart to create duplicates, nothing on what precisely they are.
The system text calls them out as being separate but having loyalty. It even has multiple clauses that reference them being able to develop separate identities to be preserved or destroyed.
- Location
- Germany
It also says those personalities can be recreated, so we don't have to kill any clones permanently.
They can only be recreated if we don't use them to resurrect. That isn't my primary problem with this though; this charm basically seems to be creating people, especially if we recreate personalities. I don't really want us to have to be responsible for weird sister-daughters.
If we did end up using it I'd be voting to never recreate a clone mind and to replace them every week to minimize the amount of time they have to deviate as people.
Winning Vote
Arc 2 Post 55: Sorrows and Secrets
Sorrows and Secrets
22st of July 2006 A.D.
The world still feels light and float about you, as tough it is the earth that is attracted to your feet and not you to it, you know it won't last, that it can't last, but in this place, under the light of sorcery gleaming off the detritus of a war past but not forgotten you meet the eye of a god of death and you are not daunted,
"No, I don't plan to, though not wholly for your sake," you sigh, struggling to put your thoughts in order, power still rushing through you like the confidence at party seven dances and three shots in when you feel like you can talk to anyone. Alas you are dealing with a far harder task than pulling some boy you only half know into the dance floor. Then again given what you can recall of Greek Mythology maybe the average booze, hook up and joint party is good prep for dealing with gods.
Bad time to giggle Molly, bad time. You bite back the impulse.
"Having met your daughter I want to think better of you, that I'm missing or misunderstanding something critical to the story, but knowing only what I know I can't trust that."
Arawn nods attentively, though part of you wonders it it is your words or your sword hand that he is paying the most mind to.
"You are a king who has broken oaths of fealty, leaving behind those who swore with him. A guardian of the dead who all but broke bread with among the worst of their defilers and bartered with him for renewed divinity, ushering in the greatest advancement and proliferation of necromancy in the modern era."
You hear Lydia gasp at the harshness of your words but dare not look at her, it is the truth and it has to be brought into the light.
"Child of Hidden Fire, do you know what is the foremost cause of death among necromancers?" the old man says slowly, almost sadly. It is clear the question is rhetorical and so you wait for his answer. "The practice of necromancy, hard was my battle against the madman Kemmler and near to the cusp of oblivion it brought me, until by guile and by chance I could be certain that his doom had come and he could not be sure that his death curse would be the end of me. He vowed then that he would not seek to slay be, but to cripple the mantle I bore. He said onto me I am one and I am great in mind and spirit, Enlightened to the truth of the world, but men are many and we only grow more so. How long until another and another like me rises and the power cracked in your hand should break."
He pauses again, not for effect, you think, but looking upon a scene far off in memory. "He offered me that which fate forbade, but which the fecund mind of man, mired in depravity though it may be, had found a means to break. This I could take on into the long years, I could be free and once more master of my domain and Kemmler... him I judged to be his own destruction and the span between the power broken and the one renewed, between a crippled pawn and again a king more than worth the evil he would do in the years left him. He was but one man and mine the duty of the ages. I was wrong."
Those last three words are spoken tonelessly, though none who could look upon Arawn's face would think they were without pain the weight of pain and sorrow.
"Before the Great War I did not understand the scale of death that mortal feromancy could wreak and the dreadful power that Kemmler would be able to draw from it, delaying his own end, once and then again. Yet if I were to make myself once more the pawn of Winter it would not restore those who passed before their time nor would it make the world any safer from such magicians as transgress against the dead."
"Well isn't that lucky for you," Harry growls. "You dropped the ball, only it wasn't the ball it was the lives of who knows how many lives..."
"There is no fortune good or ill in this understanding, only the knowledge of one who values control above the leverage to enact change," Arawn answers, or begins to, but you cut him off.
"Whatever the truth is, her revenge would not be justice and the innocent people in and around your life deserve to be caught up in it even less than you do."
"True." The sharp gaze behind the golden glasses challenges you in the silence that follows. What are you going to do about it?
"The only true peace and safety for anyone involved in this is to come to a new accord with the queen. Better to do so now while you have some people willing to assist you than later when you will once again be alone."
"What assistance do you offer and by what means are you willing to obtain of her concessions is would not otherwise give?"
And there's the trouble, the only thing you have thought of that you could hold over Mab is as Usum suggested the willingness to die so that your spite against her might survive you and... well you really do not want to go down that route unless you really have to. What else... you could offer service... but do you trust the Queen of Arctis Tor, the liege of the thing that had kidnapped you to command you even just for a time?
"What choice do you have, run away from her forever?" Harry probes as you ponder the choices this way and that.
"Forever is a long time Warden and neither I nor my once Lady shall see the end of it, the best I can do is help my daughter make her own path in the world."
"She plans to use Lydia," you cut in, sensing the shift in his tone, the one thing that can move him from his course who had defied the turning of ages and the will of the powers. "To trade your life for her service down the ages. As long as you bear that mantle she will not be safe, but you can pass it to another and so..."
"Defy her will," Gard interrupts, startling you. Truth be told you had almost forgotten she was there, which for a woman in armor with a war axe across her back is rather impressive. "One or the other, either you summon the queen now and try to bargain with her or shift the mantle to one who is not Lydua and present her with a feat accompli. Do not assume that you can speak to her to obtain of her precisely your hearts' desire. That way lie tears, or eyes frozen beyond weeping."
While she is speaking Arawn grasps his daughter's hand and speaks quietly to her. "For Lydia sake I would let the power pass from me," the death god, or is it god of death, says at last. "But I will not see her brought forth where she can yet enact her will unchecked."
Harry shifts a little, his boots squeaking on floor now more slimy than wet, but when you look at him you see no uncertainly. He can live with presenting Mab with another Ankou, but can you live with what the consequences might be for him?
What do you do?
[] Try to persuade Arawn to negotiate
-[] Write in offer to help
[] Try to convince Matthews to take on the mantle
[] Summon a lesser Ankou to take on the Mantle
[] Write in
OOC: As far as Molly can tell Arawn is being sincere
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Rolls
Exalted Socials
Arawn Socials
I would have made this a more complex roll off, but well... you rolled 9 successes when accounting for the 1s not counting.
Exalted Socials
Arawn Socials
I would have made this a more complex roll off, but well... you rolled 9 successes when accounting for the 1s not counting.
Like I said, they fill different niches. They're both 5 dot charms.
We definitely want both, but I want Gale first for its out of combat utility.
That seems to be exactly what it says; when its used to create a separate person via pregnancy, its careful to be clear about the difference.
Splintered gale inCarnation (•••••)
The Infernal flays herself apart, creating duplicates of herself.
System: The Infernal spends 5 Essence and screams, issuing forth a crimson gale that resolves into a perfect copy of herself. This clone comes into the world naked, perfectly loyal to its creator, precisely aware of what it is, and in possession of the same per- sonality and memories as the Infernal. It has the same Traits as the Infernal, but is completely mortal, with no magic of any sort. Alternately, if the Infernal possesses a working uterus, she can use this Charm to impregnate herself. This parthenogenetic child will grow up to be a perfect physical duplicate of the Infernal, but is otherwise a normal human being.
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 back into crimson 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 Splintered Gale Incarnation.
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. This destroys the clone's memories and identity as the Infernal takes over its body. Reincarnating in this fashion reduces the Infernal's Essence rating by 1. If this would reduce her to Essence 0, then reincarnation is impossible.
Signature Effect: When the Infernal dons her Shintai form, (Essence rating) clones emerge alongside her when her chrysalis shatters. They don't count against the normal clone limit of Splintered Gale Incarnation, and will vanish into crimson wind when the Shintai form ends; they cannot be reabsorbed. To be clear, these are clones of the Infernal's normal form, not her Shintai body.
The Infernal flays herself apart, creating duplicates of herself.
System: The Infernal spends 5 Essence and screams, issuing forth a crimson gale that resolves into a perfect copy of herself. This clone comes into the world naked, perfectly loyal to its creator, precisely aware of what it is, and in possession of the same per- sonality and memories as the Infernal. It has the same Traits as the Infernal, but is completely mortal, with no magic of any sort. Alternately, if the Infernal possesses a working uterus, she can use this Charm to impregnate herself. This parthenogenetic child will grow up to be a perfect physical duplicate of the Infernal, but is otherwise a normal human being.
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 back into crimson 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 Splintered Gale Incarnation.
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. This destroys the clone's memories and identity as the Infernal takes over its body. Reincarnating in this fashion reduces the Infernal's Essence rating by 1. If this would reduce her to Essence 0, then reincarnation is impossible.
Signature Effect: When the Infernal dons her Shintai form, (Essence rating) clones emerge alongside her when her chrysalis shatters. They don't count against the normal clone limit of Splintered Gale Incarnation, and will vanish into crimson wind when the Shintai form ends; they cannot be reabsorbed. To be clear, these are clones of the Infernal's normal form, not her Shintai body.
When used as a backup reincarnation, we can lose the memories of the clone in question(that part's not clear, and open to GM interpretation) and have to rebuild specific clones if we so choose. But thats a choice.
The text seems pretty clear that we can recreate them if we so choose.
The intent seems clear that we're essentially spawning temporary instances of ourself.
Naruto Shadow Clone, not Milla Jovovich's Resident Evil or Star Wars Clone Army.
And the whole point of using clones is regular syncs.
I would be assuming regular syncs every day to stay up to date.
Every two or three days would be worstcase scenario. Certainly not a week.
EDIT
Updoot!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I am really enjoying this story quite a lot. Thank you for writing it. Is intangibility or teleportation things Molly can learn?