Green Sun, Black Shadows (CG/Exalted)

Kelenas · Oct 31, 2015

Alexander89 said:
SWLIHN has Charms for that. Do you want me to post some?

Yet another reason to try and get SWLIHN's Charm-tree opened; taking over the Internet with our mind so that we can play Skynet/Hal/Shodan/insert-murderous-AI-of-choice. Well, that, and the ability to literally kill people with our mind.

...

...anyone else imagining a scene where one of our allies makes some disparaging comment about the Yozi, and Lelouch mind-chokes him for a bit while lamenting his lack of faith?

Yonatan · Oct 31, 2015

Kelenas said:
Yet another reason to try and get SWLIHN's Charm-tree opened; taking over the Internet with our mind so that we can play Skynet/Hal/Shodan/insert-murderous-AI-of-choice. Well, that, and the ability to literally kill people with our mind.

...

...anyone else imagining a scene where one of our allies makes some disparaging comment about the Yozi, and Lelouch mind-chokes him for a bit while lamenting his lack of faith?

Dont know Infernal Charms well enough to know what would allow us to do that, but we can always just sic our spider minions to do the choking

Enjou · Oct 31, 2015

Ok, I've got most of my stuff written out for my actual vote, so I just need an XP expenditure plan. By my calculations we have 39 XP to spend. (@Alexander89 - you might want to update that on the front page, also maybe include an XP currently being used in training note as you don't seem to subtract the XP until the training is actually done)

Currently I've got this as what we should do based on previous discussion.

Essence 3 - 16 XP (Immediate)
Dual Gaze Paradox (Oramus) - 8 XP (3 days)
Bloodless Murk Evasion (Ebon Dragon) - 8 XP (3 days)

...which leaves us with 7 XP by my math.

Do we want to spend any of that 7 XP or not? There are plenty of things to spend it on.

1. We could max out Intelligence, or increase one of our other mental/social abilities. Doing these sooner means they complete sooner, given they take a month to complete.
2. We could increase any of our favored abilities, including specialties. We could max out Lore (which would give Lelouch a greater affinity for technology and make him a veritable encyclopedia on mundane stuff) and even get a Hacking specialty, max out War (less of a priority due to ability to get extra dice there I think), or some other things. Combinations are possible as well.

Thoughts? My current leaning is Lore, but I'm open to other options as well.

Alexander89 said:
Nice, but I think that, if we are talking about IC Lelouch, that he would word some part differently. Nothing major, but spelling his urge so openly to strangers appear OOC. Do you mind if, when I use your stunt, changed some world here and there?

I have no problem with you ever changing wording a bit to make things more in character. I can also change bits of the stunt ahead of time if you prefer. Yonatan's version works for me, I think.

Also, about the Prayer Roll: the roll is Charisma+Performance at difficulty 7. Even if it is successful, what do you want Oramus' answer to be? A sign or portent may appear, but real aid can only come from a summoned demon since the Yozi are chained inside Malfeas.

A sign or portent of some kind would be fine. Something that awe inspiring.

Oh, and I am trying to imagine Lelouch's thought process at the prospective of praying - it's just hard, because he's the type to stand on top. Then again, religion has never played a part in canon CG.

Lelouch: "Wait, you're saying prayer actually works?"
Seyrun: "Yes." *explains the process*

Personally I think he'd just view it as a supernatural method of communication with some benefits to the being being prayed at, and as a useful tool when applied to people praying to him since it generates good stuff for him. He doesn't have to really revere the being he might be praying to, just being properly respectful (especially since he did agree to work for the Yozis, Oramus in particular) about it in order to get what he wants out of it.

Yonatan · Oct 31, 2015

@Enjou I think raising Lore would make the most sense, IC, given this whole new world Lelouch is being exposed to here. It would fit in his character to get the most info he can so he can make plans. Either that or Intelligence.

EDIT:

Seyrun: *Explains how prayer works*
Lelouch: So what you're saying, gods and such can actualy hear prayers, but all I get is extra juice with none of the begging for my help all the time crap? Sweet gig. You're more than enough voices in my head already.
Seyrun: ... I live to serve.

Krain · Oct 31, 2015

Enjou said:
Do we want to spend any of that 7 XP or not? There are plenty of things to spend it on.

1. We could max out Intelligence, or increase one of our other mental/social abilities. Doing these sooner means they complete sooner, given they take a month to complete.
2. We could increase any of our favored abilities, including specialties. We could max out Lore (which would give Lelouch a greater affinity for technology and make him a veritable encyclopedia on mundane stuff) and even get a Hacking specialty, max out War (less of a priority due to ability to get extra dice there I think), or some other things. Combinations are possible as well.

Thoughts? My current leaning is Lore, but I'm open to other options as well.

I'd prefer to save the XP for one more Charm.

Alexander89 · Oct 31, 2015

Enjou said:
A sign or portent of some kind would be fine. Something that awe inspiring.

I'm open to suggestions about that.

Yonatan said:
@Enjou I think raising Lore would make the most sense, IC, given this whole new world Lelouch is being exposed to here. It would fit in his character to get the most info he can so he can make plans. Either that or Intelligence.

That is Occult:

OCCULT
Trait Description: This Ability represents a character's knowledge of and familiarity with all forms of magic, ranging from the Charms of the Exalted to the minor but ubiquitous workings of mortal thaumaturgy. In addition, it also covers familiarity with all manner of supernatural creatures, including ghosts, gods, elementals and the Fair Folk. Characters who are skilled in Occult know both the capabilities of such creatures and how to petition or appease them.

Lore is:

LORE
Trait Description: Many educated people in the First Age knew the secrets of the universe. Today, scholars retain only fragments of this knowledge. Characters with the Lore Ability have some knowledge of current events, history, geography and the customs of other lands, as well as the magical secrets of First Age technology. Characters must possess as least Lore 1 to be literate.

Yonatan · Oct 31, 2015

Alexander89 said:
I'm open to suggestions about that.

That is Occult:

Lore is:

I meant in terms of history, which falls under Lore.

beowolf · Oct 31, 2015

Yonatan said:
Dont know Infernal Charms well enough to know what would allow us to do that, but we can always just sic our spider minions to do the choking

A prerequisite of every one of the SWLIHN Charms listed earlier is Mind-Hand Manipulation, which, as you can probably tell from the name, gives you telekinesis. It is one of my favorite Charms, because it allows you to bypass most of the mundane combat rules entirely.

With the telekinesis, you use Willpower in place of Dexterity, Essence in place of Strength, and Occult in place of whatever ability would be needed for the action, unless said action involves using a tool or weapon. More importantly, MHM is a valid Occult specialty, so it can add to blocking attacks, attacking, and your lifting capacity as well as anything else you use TK for, all with a single specialty.

Enjou · Oct 31, 2015

Alexander89 said:
I'm open to suggestions about that.

Hmmm... maybe a seven pointed kaleidoscopic star appearing on the wall behind Lelouch, staying there for seven minutes?

Alexander89 · Oct 31, 2015

Yonatan said:
I meant in terms of history, which falls under Lore.

Then yes, increasing Lore would grant you access to a treasure of knowledge.

Enjou · Oct 31, 2015

Those wanting SWLiHN Charms should keep in mind that we'd have to convince her to open up her Charm set if we don't want to pay double XP for them using our Fiend ability. There may be a bit of a problem with that, by the way. This is a quite from Eric Minton, who was one of the authors of the latter half of Infernals, the Malfeas book, the Broken Winged Crane, and Ink Monkeys, among a few other of the Exalted books:

"Reality is his forge, the Wyld the forge-fire, his lungs the bellows, his breath the hammer. Like fire, his breath consumes; but where fire reduces matter to the simplicity of ash, the breath of Oramus consumes simplicity and replaces it with an infinite complexity of wonder and terror.

Before the War, there were few animosities among the Primordials that could match She Who Lives in Her Name's attitude toward Oramus. He had no regard for the structures she imposed on Creation; indeed, he scarcely noticed how his works tangled her hierarchies into impossible snarls. Certain scholars suggest that the Three Spheres Cataclysm was aimed as much at Oramus' wild legacy as at the Incarnae; indeed, she may have done the inhabitants of Creation a favor by ridding the world of any number of incomprehensible absurdities."

SHLiHN may not like us very much, what with being the champion of Oramus and all.

beowolf said:
A prerequisite of every one of the SWLIHN Charms listed earlier is Mind-Hand Manipulation, which, as you can probably tell from the name, gives you telekinesis. It is one of my favorite Charms, because it allows you to bypass most of the mundane combat rules entirely.

With the telekinesis, you use Willpower in place of Dexterity, Essence in place of Strength, and Occult in place of whatever ability would be needed for the action, unless said action involves using a tool or weapon. More importantly, MHM is a valid Occult specialty, so it can add to blocking attacks, attacking, and your lifting capacity as well as anything else you use TK for, all with a single specialty.

Here's the exact text for that part, as the Occult isn't absolute in being used...

"This Charm has a Dexterity equal to his Willpower and a Strength equal to his Essence. The associated Ability to use this Charm is Occult, whether for attacking with direct force or hurling objects, or to determine effective (Strength + Athletics) total for a mind-powered feat of strength. If a floating
weapon is wielded this way, the Ability is the lower rating of the normal trait and Occult, and all actions using the weapon suffer a -3 external penalty."

Anyways, I'd still like more thoughts on whether or not to spend the remaining XP and on what if so. Still leaning towards Lore.

Peanuckle · Oct 31, 2015

Talking about hacking, here's some modern-day Infernal charms.

Ink Monkey Bones #8: Modern Infernal Charms

Crystal-Fire Servitor Coding creates a code-based demon to protect the system its on. The Ebon Dragon's charms there are particularly dickish.

Yonatan · Oct 31, 2015

Peanuckle said:
Talking about hacking, here's some modern-day Infernal charms.

Ink Monkey Bones #8: Modern Infernal Charms

Crystal-Fire Servitor Coding creates a code-based demon to protect the system its on. The Ebon Dragon's charms there are particularly dickish.

Its the Ebon Dragon. Being dickish is literaly his "thing"

Alexander89 · Oct 31, 2015

Enjou said:
"Reality is his forge, the Wyld the forge-fire, his lungs the bellows, his breath the hammer. Like fire, his breath consumes; but where fire reduces matter to the simplicity of ash, the breath of Oramus consumes simplicity and replaces it with an infinite complexity of wonder and terror.

...Does that mean that Oramus' Breath Attack, as any respectable dragon is bound to have, causes Wyld mutations?

Before the War, there were few animosities among the Primordials that could match She Who Lives in Her Name's attitude toward Oramus. He had no regard for the structures she imposed on Creation; indeed, he scarcely noticed how his works tangled her hierarchies into impossible snarls. Certain scholars suggest that the Three Spheres Cataclysm was aimed as much at Oramus' wild legacy as at the Incarnae; indeed, she may have done the inhabitants of Creation a favor by ridding the world of any number of incomprehensible absurdities."

SHLiHN may not like us very much, what with being the champion of Oramus and all.

Uhm, then how to explain this:

SPACE MONSTER SCREAM
Cost: 10m, 1wp, 1ahl; Mins: Essence 5;
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Native, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Voice Like Crystal Facets
Once, the Whispering Flame placed her ear
against the conceptual Without of Oramus and heard
a terrifying scream. In her secret heart it excited her,
and she remembered every detail: tone, pitch, and
length. Through practice she tuned her perfectly fragmented
voice to produce this one sound: a Primordial
scream which may rend the traitor gods asunder.
An Infernal who unleashes this Charm pierces
the conceptual fabric of existence to visit the landscape
with the very essence of horror made sound,
shredding through spirits, torturing Fair Folk and
shattering mortal souls. As the warlock searches for
the perfect tone to create this monstrosity, she makes
an undodgeable attack which cannot be blocked
without the aid of magic, rolling (Intelligence +
Performance) and adding (Essence) automatic
successes. Space Monster Scream targets all beings
within (Essence x 100) yards of the Infernal, but may
be heard up to (Essence) miles with no consequence.
Its base damage is (Intelligence + Occult + Essence)
L. This damage is aggravated against gods, raksha,
and the sheridans of Adorjan. Targets incapacitated
by Space Monster Scream without a Shaping defense
active immediately lose their dying health levels
and are shaped into solid crystal statues frozen in
the agony of their final death throes.
Repurchasing this Charm at Essence 6+ allows
an Infernal using Broadcast Announcement Prana
to unleash Space Monster Scream from all manses
she is broadcasting from for an activation cost of 20
motes, two willpower, and one aggravated health
level. She may not do so again until her DV has
refreshed 10 times.

SWLiHN being an hypocrite?

Enjou · Oct 31, 2015

Alexander89 said:
...Does that mean that Oramus' Breath Attack, as any respectable dragon is bound to have, causes Wyld mutations?

Probably... we should totally come up with a Charm for that.

Uhm, then how to explain this:

SWLiHN being an hypocrite?

I dunno. Maybe she's secretly yandere for him? Or maybe she just likes him better now what with him being asleep (or at least most of the time, given he must have woken up at some point recently), not interfering with her hierarchy stuff. That's almost the same thing as being stripped of free will, right?

Peanuckle · Oct 31, 2015

I imagine SWLiHN is tsundere for Oramus. She hates his madness and chaotic behavior, but she's drawn to him by her desire to put everything into order. It's like putting a neat-freak into a messy room; they'll freak out and clean it up and make it orderly.

She can't stand him, but she keeps coming back because she has to fix him. Then he just pisses her off again with his nonchalance and free-living ways.

Enjou · Oct 31, 2015

Ok, going ahead and putting my vote down. If anyone has anything to add or any criticisms, please let me know.

[X] Speech and Prayer

Speech: "I am Zero, Green Sun Prince and Chosen of..." you dramatically extend your right arm, flaring your cape, "Oramus, The Dragon From Beyond The World!" Several members of the cult gasp in shock at your proclamation, others simply staring with wide eyes and mouths agape. "Yes, great Oramus, he who sees both That Which Is and That Which Is Not, has chosen to aid the Reclamation by declaring me his champion. In his wisdom, Lord Oramus has given me a task of vast importance, which will become evident to all soon enough. The corrupt and oppressive rulers of Britannia will suffer for the sins they have committed, and you shall be remembered and greatly rewarded for your steadfast loyalty and work, when the True Rulers of the world return!" You raise your fist, and the crowd cheers. Chants of "Zero!" and "Oramus!" are a constant. You gesture for silence, and they quickly calm themselves, though the fire in their eyes is still present. "For now, I merely ask of you that in the future you include me in your prayers, but at this moment we must give thanks to my master. Mighty Oramus does not ask for temples or shrines to be built in his image, for it is his desire to maintain only his one unique temple within Malfeas. However, he does appreciate prayer, as all his brethren. So, let us pray to him now to give him our thanks, and to ask him to inspire us to greater heights." You kneel, and begin to pray.

Charm Use: For the speech itself, you will use six motes from your personal pool to add three successes using Second Oramus Excellency to the speech - keywords to justify the theme are being enigmatic as Zero, shattering expectations by declaring yourself Chosen of Oramus (nobody expects Oramus, not even the Ebon Dragon!), and inciting them to adore your rebellion. For the prayer roll, you'll spend eight motes of peripheral Essence to add four successes using Second Oramus Excellency both to make it more successful and to add a bit of a lightshow to make the whole thing more inspiring.

[X] Plan Learn About The Cult
-[] Topics of discussion... (in no particular order)
--[] What are the cult's current activities and abilities?
--[] What do they use the demons they summon for?
--[] What goods do they currently export and import to and from Malfeas? Are there any other goods they wish to trade in, but can't get access to on either side for whatever reasons?
--[] Who is the cult's patron demon? If you're going to expand the cult's ability to trade, you'll want to talk to whomever it is about doing so while you are in Malfeas to make things easier on that end.
--[] Discuss how you want them to help the Black Knights.
---[] They should pick a Japanese liason, as the group is primarily Japanese at the moment. Also, it should be someone who can keep their religious beliefs quiet, as the Black Knights are not likely to deal with such things well at this time. Maybe later they can be converted, but for now the relationship between the two groups should be kept at a professional level.
---[] The main things needed will be assistance in providing information on prospective targets, and occassional stealthy demonic intervention to help ensure things go well. You don't expect them to do this for free, of course, so you'll negotiate a cut of any money that the Black Knights seize from targets (criminal organizations tend to be cash only businesses at multiple points) that will go to the cult.
-[] Stunt: "So, how do you go about using the abilities of the demons you summon?" you ask the cult leader. "Well, lots of ways, but I guess the main thing is we've been gathering blackmail material on a number of minor nobles. They're pretty corrupt, and they're quite eager to pay once they know we're aware of the skeletons in their closet." You nod. It was

one of the things you had considered doing yourself. "That's good, but you can expand on that to make even more money. The right information is worth a lot to the right people. Rather

than doing the blackmail yourself, you could just as easily sell the information and evidence to their political rivals for more than that. You can even play both sides, pitting rival

gangs or political factions against one another, having them escalate and destroy one another for you. Giving partial information to lead people to false conclusions also works - just

look at how Prince Clovis went after the Purebloods." The cult leader blinks. "That was you?" You grin behind your mask. This is never going to get old.

[X] Agata

[X] Plan More Essence and Charms

Essence 3 - 16 XP (Immediate)
Dual Gaze Paradox (Oramus) - 8 XP (3 days)
Bloodless Murk Evasion (Ebon Dragon) - 8 XP (3 days)
Lore 4 and 5 - 6 XP (Immediate)
Hacking (Lore) - 1 XP (Immediate)

Yonatan · Oct 31, 2015

Seems good to me.

[X] Enjou.

Alexander89 · Oct 31, 2015

Enjou said:
Probably... we should totally come up with a Charm for that.

In that case I may have a suggestion:

XANICHI The Eternal Maze

Apparently Tzeentch seen as a Devil-Tiger by Revlid. Hand of Change Charmtree kind of fit.

Enjou said:
[X] Plan More Essence and Charms

Essence 3 - 16 XP (Immediate)
Dual Gaze Paradox (Oramus) - 8 XP (3 days)
Bloodless Murk Evasion (Ebon Dragon) - 8 XP (3 days)
Lore 4 and 5 - 6 XP (Immediate)
Hacking (Lore) - 1 XP (Immediate)

Lelouch has 35 Xp. That would require to go into Xp debt, unless gain more Xp with omakes and fanart.

About that, Enjou, how comes you're the only one who post omakes? Considering this quest seems to well received...?

Unelemental · Oct 31, 2015

[X] Enjou.

Enjou · Oct 31, 2015

Alexander89 said:
Lelouch has 35 Xp. That would require to go into Xp debt, unless gain more Xp with omakes and fanart.

Hmmm, lemme check on the math there. Total acquired is 63 XP...

Dexterity 4 - 7 XP
Dodge 1 - 3 XP
Athletics 1 - 3 XP
Resistance 1 - 3 XP
Firearms 2 - 4 XP
Knightmare Frames (Drive) 2 and 3: 4 XP
Linguistics 3 (Old Realm): 3 XP

That's 27 XP spent. If we have 63 XP acquired in total, that leaves 36 XP, not 35. I forgot to include the expenditure for Old Realm when I made my calculations.

I had an omake in mind anyways, so I might as well go ahead and write it to get some XP to allow for this. Just some slice of life snippets of what the Black Knights and maybe a few of the Ashford students are doing.

About that, Enjou, how comes you're the only one who post omakes? Considering this quest seems to well received...?

I dunno. Not everyone is good at writing omakes, especially for character driven works, so they might not try. It might also be that they're not certain what to write about. Hopefully more will come in time.

chocolote12 · Oct 31, 2015

Enjou said:
The corrupt and oppressive rule of Britannia

Rulers works better than rule, I think.

Enjou said:
For now, I merely ask of you that in the future you include me in your prayers, but right now we must give thanks to my master.

Double "Now"'s don't really work well. Perhaps a synonym?

Enjou said:
Great Oramus does not ask for temples or shrines to be built in his image, for it is his way to only have his one unique temple within great Malfeas. However, he does appreciate prayer, as all his brethern.

This doesn't flow well, and should probably be replaced with something less... clunky. Also, Oramus has many titles; perhaps you could use one of them instead of just appending "Great" to his name?

Enjou said:
So, let us pray to him now to give him our thanks,

Triple Now?

makopaulo · Oct 31, 2015

[X] Enjou

Darik29 · Oct 31, 2015

Hey guys, when we get to hell, mind if we helped our Coadjutor try to fulfill his motivation of creating the greatest Assassin network ever?

I know we're not gonna be there long, but such a network would be truly Invaluable to us, and could allow us to not only rake in the cash from Hell, but allow us access to exotic resources, and even get us contacts with the people who employ us.

Enjou · Oct 31, 2015

chocolote12 said:
Rulers works better than rule, I think.

Double "Now"'s don't really work well. Perhaps a synonym?
This doesn't flow well, and should probably be replaced with something less... clunky. Also, Oramus has many titles; perhaps you could use one of them instead of just appending "Great" to his name?

Triple Now?

Fixed a bit of this.

Darik29 said:
Hey guys, when we get to hell, mind if we helped our Coadjutor try to fulfill his motivation of creating the greatest Assassin network ever?

I know we're not gonna be there long, but such a network would be truly Invaluable to us, and could allow us to not only rake in the cash from Hell, but allow us access to exotic resources, and even get us contacts with the people who employ us.

It's not exactly a high priority, but we might look into it if there's an opportunity.

Green Sun, Black Shadows (CG/Exalted)

Pet the pretty kitty? Y/N

Pet the pretty kitty? Y/N

Pet the pretty kitty? Y/N

Pet the pretty kitty? Y/N

A Penguin Flailing Against The Keyboard Of Life.

Nice bakuretsu!

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