Green Sun, Black Shadows (CG/Exalted)

[Kiriel]

@Alexander89 , here's an Emerald Circle Spell something I found.

Static Preservation Area

Cost: 20m
Target: Area (15 yard radius around the caster, or ritual area)

The fights of the Exalted cause so much damage to the surrounding area that it was inevitable that attempts would be made to minimise it. Combining the Mudra of Earth with the Mudra of Hierarchy, the sorcerer infuses all things with solidity and rigidity in a sphere around them. For the rest of the scene, no inanimate object within the area may be damaged unless that was the specific function of the attack. A blow which misses will bounce off a teacup; a barrage of arrows may be stopped by a paper wall, thus saving the life of the person hiding behind it. This may be bypassed by stunting; for example, a character who declares that they will stab the person behind them through the wall will be able to do so, but the value of the cover provided by objects is increased by one. This does not provide cover where none is to be found. The increased resilience adds the caster's Essence to the Lethal and Bashing soak of all inanimate objects within the area, and gives them a Hardness equal to the caster's temporary Willpower (which means the value changes as the character gains and spends Willpower). This spell especially sees use by Dragonblooded, because it can render breakable environments proof against their anima flux; something beloved of Fire Aspects in a paper mill that they own.

Alternatively, the character can choose to cast it over a single structure. Every window and entryway must be traced with a paste composed of ground quartz, rosemary and mercury, which costs Resources 3 to make. This extends the effect to a month, or, if the spell is cast during Calibration, a year. Once this has been cast once, it only costs the equivalent of Resources 2 to renew. Despite the convenience, many are wary of living in a dwelling warded like this; things don't quite act like they should, and to trip and fall into a paper wall, only to find it as hard as rock to an accident, is an unpleasant experience.

If cast using the Sorcerous Initiation of She Who Lives In Her Name, the caster may choose to make every inanimate object within range not currently being used by a character appear to be made of solid, clear crystal, weaving her version of hierarchy into the fabric of things. This makes objects nearby as transparent as glass, invalidating their use for concealment by any individual.

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[meianmaru]

Some basics:

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...Suddenly, I'm thinking about Elfen Lied. *Shudders*

 

[veekie]

...Suddenly, I'm thinking about Elfen Lied. *Shudders*

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It does go like that vs mortals.

It's not as hard hitting as a Green Sun Nimbus Flare approach(which has really crazy damage, but isn't too hard to just use DV against), but it's a LOT of high accuracy, low damage attacks coupled to really solid defenses, chipping away at you steadily.
That's before you employ any enhancements on it.

 

[Broken25]

There is still the problem that most of our serious fights will involve giant robots, and i am not sure well she could fight those.

She has more than enough power to defend herself, but not enough that we want her in a battlefield. As it should be.

 

[ryuan]

Hmm, never really understood the appeal to Green Sun Nimbus Flare. Why it is so good?

 

[veekie]

There is still the problem that most of our serious fights will involve giant robots, and i am not sure well she could fight those.

She has more than enough power to defend herself, but not enough that we want her in a battlefield. As it should be.

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In a mecha fight...actually I don't think she'd find mook mechs any harder to fight than soldiers. Easier even, since Mind Hand Manipulation largely ignores Soak as a problem due to it's low damage(and thus it can just roll through on ping damage...which is equal to it's normal damage), and the DV-based build is ideal for fighting lower accuracy, high damage mechs. It's ace units that she's weak against, in that they can hit her, though the Defiler Anima should allow her to survive 1-2 hits from a mech. Fighting mechs is still not recommended until she gets the option to deal willpower damage, and simply crush their minds through the mech so they fight for her instead.

Assuming she's fighting on foot for some reason instead of sitting in a mech piloted by someone else, acting like a secondary turret and combat engineer.

 

[landcollector]

Hmm, never really understood the appeal to Green Sun Nimbus Flare. Why it is so good?

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It doesn't care how much soak the target has, it does at least 2 levels of Lethal damage.

 

[veekie]

Hmm, never really understood the appeal to Green Sun Nimbus Flare. Why it is so good?

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It deals LEVELS of damage. Not dice. It bypasses soak, if you deal any damage at all, it's going to wreck the enemy, because there's no defense unless you have enough Hardness to block the carrier attack completely. Armor does nothing. Natural defenses do nothing. Only way to counter it is to have a lot of health levels

Or avoid getting hit, but that's easier said than done.

 

[Broken25]

(and thus it can just roll through on ping damage...which is equal to it's normal damage)

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We are using Errata. Ping damage is a single die.

(Also she doesn't have any enviromental defenses, and so is vulnerable to a lot of things that can happen in a high firepower fight, like a fire. A high DV doesn't make you invulnerable by far)

 

[Alexander89]

Cytherea's Excellency is up. Thanks for voting.

I was thinking more along the lines of a bastardized combination of Warstriders, 40k Titans, and Knightmares. Regardless, it's a fuckhuge mech.

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A fuckhuge mech is always fine

We could make Metal Gear Excelsus and have it burrow underneath Pendragon for a surprise attack


"Making the mother of all omelettes here, Suzaku! Can't fret over every egg!"

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And thus Lelouch gained a few levels in Trolling.

wasn't Evangelion bigger? and more thematically fitting?

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That would also be an Artifact N/A (at least!) endeavour.

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You just need to install a cockpit and control system in a suitably large behemoth.

Or 2CD.

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Behemoth. Of those Malfeas is full, while a 2CD will almost always produce a convincing excuse why they can't.

Huh.
Didn't see the summoning spell mentioned in her list of known sorcery spells.

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It appears in the Infernal Corebook.

As for Artifacts, an Infernal equivalent of those crafting bracers (sorry, can't remember the name off the top of my head) would work.

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I think I know what you're talking about. Give me a minute...

@Alexander89 , here's an Emerald Circle Spell something I found.

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Neat. I will consider it.

 

[the DragonBard]

It appears in the Infernal Corebook.

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So, it's an innate Infernal ability, and they don't need the Sorcery spell?

Either way, Emerald Circle counterspell would probably be something I would suggest.

Also, upping Occult, and getting an artifact specialty, as I'd think it would fit her, is something I would suggest.

 

[veekie]

We are using Errata. Ping damage is a single die.

(Also she doesn't have any enviromental defenses, and so is vulnerable to a lot of things that can happen in a high firepower fight, like a fire. A high DV doesn't make you invulnerable by far)

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Less that it's a good idea, but assuming she gets smooshed in a fight is...assuming quite a bit, because half her charms give her crazy good durability and regeneration, half her charms give her crazy good DVs, and her anima banner gives her even MORE durability.

She might not be a mech killer, but assuming a standard Knightmare piloted by a mook can take her out is laughable.

 

[Enjou]

@Alexander89 - One possible spell might be something to deal with the fact that Malfeas doesn't have internet. If she's going out and about and communicating with her project team, it'd be annoying not to have some kind of fast communication - if her workshop were a ways away from her spiffy townhouse, that would be problematic.

So how about she creates a spell that creates two magical communication nodes that use a bastardized combination of internet protocols and prayer, allowing her to connect two disparate networks together, regardless of distance? If you've got at least one person on each side praying to their respective node, you can send data packets like you would through the internet using prayer as the communication medium. It would be hard to build a whole internet with this as each node only connects to its twin, but it'd be better than what Malfeas has currently.

 

[Broken25]

So how about she creates a spell that creates two magical communication nodes that use a bastardized combination of internet protocols and prayer, allowing her to connect two disparate networks together, regardless of distance? If you've got at least one person on each side praying to their respective node, you can send data packets like you would through the internet using prayer as the communication medium. It would be hard to build a whole internet with this as each node only connects to its twin, but it'd be better than what Malfeas has currently.

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That is way to powerful for a terrestrial circle spell. Compare with infalible messenger, the standard info-transfer spell.

You could do some 1 dot artifact that allow to do that, though.

 

[Winged One]

The banishment spell to deal with bound demons and counter magic are also decent investments for a sorcerer, even if you can replace a lot of specific spells with modern infrastructure. Maybe some pre-combat buffs too?

 

[Yonatan]

Correct me if I got this wrong, but would'nt this Charm allow someone to access the Internet from Malfeas normaly, and would an Infernal be able to make their own version of such a Charm?

From Shards of the Exalted Dream (Exalted Modern):

God-Mind Algorithms
Cost: -;
Mins: Lore 2, Essence 2;
Type: Permanent
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

The Solar Exalted are unmatched in their technical genius, transcending the limitations of mortal technology with their supernal prowess. Any dice added to the Solar's computer-based actions by stunds or equipment bonuses are converted into automatic successes. Essence empowers any computer he operates, granting it unlimited battery life and perfect wireless connection to the Internet regardless of location. With Storyteller-approved stunts, the Solar may even take computer-based actions using other electoronic devices, allowing him to hack into systems from his smartphone or access the Internet from his car's GPS.

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[Alexander89]

Something like this:

FORGE-HAND GAUNTLETS (ARTIFACT •••• FOR A PAIR)
Repair: 2
Appearing as gloves of scaled red dragon-skin leather adorned with red jade articulated plates and elaborate orichalcum wire inlay, these remarkable artifacts serve as powerful tools of crafting and, in this fallen Age, deadly weapons. A pair of these devices costs 10 motes to attune, which also resizes them to perfectly fi t their owner.
Forge-hand gauntlets are completely impervious to all heat, and they confer that same protection on their wearer's hands and arms. An Exalt wearing a pair could reach into the central plasma furnace of a First Age factory-cathedral and scoop out a handful of molten orichalcum, feeling only a pleasant warmth. Because the gloves protect only the hands and arms, however, their imperviousness would not similarly protect a character standing in a bonfire (or otherwise taking damage from heat-based environmental effects). Against attacks based on heat or flame, an Exalt wearing these gloves gains a +10L/10B soak and +10L/+10B hardness, as long as he uses them to parry the attacks (and has a positive Parry DV, of course).
The gloves can also heat themselves with a thought, making them hot enough to melt stone and steel. From a utilitarian standpoint, the wearer effectively has an exceptional blacksmith's forge on his person at all time, and his player adds a +2 bonus to all Craft (Fire) rolls to make or repair objects as a result. Used combatively, every unarmed attack against an inanimate object that is not made of a magical material (or comparably invulnerable) permanently reduces all the object's soak values by the pre-soak damage of the attack (to a minimum of 0 soak). Attacks against characters wearing non-indestructible armor likewise permanently reduce the armor's soak values, destroying any armor reduced to 0/0 soak. The gauntlets allow their wearer to parry lethal and ranged attacks without a stunt, and if the gauntlets fully parry a non-magical weapon (i.e., Parry DV cancels all attack successes), the weapon is burnt to ash, bent to twisted slag or otherwise destroyed. Because of their composite construction, forge-hand gauntlets do not provide magical material bonuses and may be used by any Exalted. They are wielded using Martial Arts and suffer no offhand penalties used paired. (Second stat bar refl ects item clinched.)

BRACERS OF UNIVERSAL CRAFTING (ARTIFACT •••)
Repair: 3
These bracers were fi rst created during the Shogunate and remain popular in Lookshy. Carved from green jade a quarter inch thick and two inches wide, these artifacts must be surgically grafted to an Essence user to function. Failure infl icts one level of unsoakable lethal damage for every success by which the roll fell short. A botch infl icts the consequences of normal failure and also damages the bracers, requiring they be repaired. Success implants the bracers on the subject's arms, where they lie fl ush with the skin. Because the items must be implanted, users need not commit Essence to them, but they must spend
two motes of Essence to activate these items for one scene. Once activated, the bracers create temporary projections of solidifi ed Essence that can act as both tools and extra hands. This item allows the character to add a number of automatic successes equal to her Essence to all rolls involving fi ne manipulation. Such rolls include picking locks and surgery, as well as many Craft rolls, including most uses of Craft (Magitech), Craft (Air), cooking or any other careful task where precision matters more than strength. If the character works for more than one scene, she need only spend another two motes of Essence every additional scene to cause the tools to remain as long as she requires them. The tools and other manipulators created by these bracers vanish the instant they cease being used, and the character wearing these bracers can control them as easily as she can manipulate her own fi ngers. In addition to being compatible with all Craft Charms, these bracers negate the need for any additional tools and eliminate all penalties for performing an action without proper tools. In addition, if the character is in Yu-Shan or a god's sanctum, this artifact allow her to craft items from both ambrosia and quintessence (forms of solidifyed prayer), even if she otherwise lacks Charms that would allow her to work these exotic materials.
Surgery: 10/1 hour/5 – patient's Essence /3

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The Hand of the Great Maker is to use when shaping Wyld into Creation, so even an Hell equivalent would not be much use.

Also, as you may know you are not a random Solar, given power but left alone in the grand scheme of things beside what he can gain for himself. You're an Infernal, you work for Hell: great things are expected from you, but in return you receive whatever help you need.

As such, it will come time when Lelouch will have the possibility of asking resources, raging from materials, weapons, manses, hearthstones, artifacts and such. He can't ask too much, since he still needs to prove himself first, but he can.
The palace within the Conventicle Malfeasant stands apart, since there is one for every Prince. That is all your whatever you do. As so are the serfs you can ask for, though you will have only a limited use for them.

In that light, I recommend you to start thinking on what you want Lelouch to equip himself, and what he needs for his rebellion and other duties Malfeas will give him. As a rule, you can't ask anything above 3 dots. You can also ask for a Spies Background, but only up to 2 dots:

SPIES
Infiltration and subversion are the watchwords of the Infernal Exalted, many of whom acquire networks of informants both in Creation and among the demon courts of the Yozi realm. Spies in Creation range from devoted cultists to courtiers seduced by the promise of infernal power. Unlike Contacts, a character cannot use Spies to represent a general facility for finding things out. On the other hand, spies have greater access to secret information. This Background represents the character's access to a spy network. The higher a character's rating, the wider and more numerous are the areas where he knows the local agents and has authority to call on their services. Like contacts, spies do not endanger themselves for a character's sake (beyond being informants for a Yozi or one of her agents, at least). They simply provide information and minor support services such as a safe place to sleep and messages passed back to the character's demonic masters.

• You know how to contact and use a few agents in a town or small kingdom (in Creation or Malfeas).
•• Your master gives you access to her spy network in two significant city-states in Creation or two major fiefdoms in Malfeas.
••• You can call upon spy networks in three important nations or trans-national organizations such as the Guild in Creation or the priests of Cecelyne in Malfeas.
•••• You exploit a spy network that expands throughout an entire cardinal direction of Creation or a quadrant of Malfeas. Anywhere you go in that region, you can find informants. (Naturally, this works best if it's the same region where you usually act.) The spies who serve you have likely heavily infiltrated the inner circles of Yozis other than your own.
••••• You have complete access to a spy network spread across an entire cardinal direction in Creation and across the length and breadth of Malfeas, including thousands of casual informants and hundreds of full-time agents. Your master's eyes are everywhere, and they tell you everything they see. All you need to do is ask.

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Obviously I will provide example, but I feel that, as any good game, the player(s) must be free to indulge in their creativities, with canon artifacts being simply suggestions.

Oh, and re-reading Modern Age I found those details:

SHE WHO LIVES IN HER NAME

ANALYTICAL MODELING INTUITION
This Charm's second purchase (see The Manual of Exalted Power—The Infernals, pp. 131-132) can be used to extract information from a computer as if using it normally to gain five threshold successes on an Investigation roll. Mundane computers are not left catatonic, but for the next hour users suffer a -2 external penalty on relevant rolls, and Infernals cannot make further use of this Charm during that time, as the device repairs or reinstalls the programs that the Exalt's magic tore through.

TOOL-TRANSCENDING CONSTRUCTS
This Charm allows an Infernal to interface with any computer, if she is familiar with the device necessary to do so, her Essence substituting for missing keyboards or security dongles. See The Manual of Exalted Power—The Infernals, page 137.

EXPERIMENTAL ACCELERATION MASTERY
When the act of creation is so ephemeral as programming a computer, this Charm enhances such actions better than the physical act of crafting. The Exalt accelerates her work by a factor of (her Lore).

PURPOSE-DRIVEN REFRACTION CLOUD
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Obvious, Shaping, Sorcerous
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Tool-Transcending Constructs
She Who Lives in Her Name incorporates many facets into her constellation, extruding knowledge and tools best suited to whatever task she faces. This Charm cannot be activated if the Exalt does not currently have Mind-Hand Manipulation active, and all iterations end when that Charm does. With this Charm, the Exalt can transform an object she owns into a crystalline geometry about a yard across that orbits her. When she requires the transformed object's use, she may pay 5m as a miscellaneous action to shatter the shape into a cloud of shards, which continues to orbit her for an hour in this state. With Mind-Hand Manipulation, the Infernal may utilize this cloud as if it were the original object, refracting constructs of light to fulfill the physical manifestations of the tool's uses. A cloud derived from a sword shears targets with cutting beams of light, while platforms of shimmering crystal support passengers in a
cloud derived from a car.
Despite its strange aspect, for the Infernal the object functions normally. Others may be affected by actions facilitated by the representative cloud of crystals, but they cannot directly use the object themselves. This Charm can transform artifacts of up to rating 3, but only if they are attuned by the Infernal, if they require attunement. Losing attunement for any reason ends the effect and returns the object to its natural state. A character cannot "store" more than (her Essence) objects at once with this Charm; she may reactivate it to revert an object in preparation of replacing it with another.

HOLLOW MIND POSSESSION
Hollow Mind Possession (see The Broken-Winged Crane, pp. 19-20) can be one of the most powerful assets a character possesses in a setting rife with computers. However, it is not the ultimate power. Material Intelligences (MI) are rare, especially in mundane computer technology. It requires powerful, widespread networks of computers to create one. This does not mean that the internet or its equivalents are a single material intelligence, either. A network MI is defined by a core purpose, which is usually a localized cluster of computers working to a common goal. They may even work together like a single, greater computer. Storytellers should be very mindful of this distinction. However closely networked they may be, various MI networks exist individually, as do the programs on them. An Infernal that possesses the MI of a car factory master control program does not have control over similar car factories, even if they use identical computers and programs and are connected to each other. Mundane computer networks typically resist the effects of this Charm at difficulty 2. Those with especially poor security may be difficulty 1, while hardened military or sensitive corporate networks may be difficulty 3 or 4. Some mundane vehicles may be advanced enough to possess MIs, and these are typically difficulty 1 to possess.
The Essence 4+ repurchase of this Charm does not allow the Infernal to possess computers or programs that lie on the same paved road. Instead, she must rely on network connections directly to the target. For instance, she may touch a wireless router or a cable that connects a targeted MI, and use this Charm successfully, but she cannot reach her target by way of another computer on the same network.

NOUMENA-SEIZING ASSIMILATION
This Charm (see The Broken-Winged Crane, pp. 20-21) can open backdoors into things like mundane powered armor or vehicles, but only if they are connected directly to an existing valid target network.

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Should I add them?

 

[Broken25]

About spells, i will point out that while infalible messenger is much less useful in a world with phones, is still plenty useful. Not only it is an unhackeable communication tool, is the best way to transfer info in and out of Malfeas. (The only other ways are traveling there yourself or using a demon to give the message). If we have party members in Creation while other are in Malfeas, we need this to communicate effectively.

 

[Alexander89]

So, it's an innate Infernal ability, and they don't need the Sorcery spell?

Either way, Emerald Circle counterspell would probably be something I would suggest.

Also, upping Occult, and getting an artifact specialty, as I'd think it would fit her, is something I would suggest.

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No, it's a spell only for Infernal. Added Emerald Countermagic.

@Alexander89 - One possible spell might be something to deal with the fact that Malfeas doesn't have internet. If she's going out and about and communicating with her project team, it'd be annoying not to have some kind of fast communication - if her workshop were a ways away from her spiffy townhouse, that would be problematic.

So how about she creates a spell that creates two magical communication nodes that use a bastardized combination of internet protocols and prayer, allowing her to connect two disparate networks together, regardless of distance? If you've got at least one person on each side praying to their respective node, you can send data packets like you would through the internet using prayer as the communication medium. It would be hard to build a whole internet with this as each node only connects to its twin, but it'd be better than what Malfeas has currently.

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That is way to powerful for a terrestrial circle spell. Compare with infalible messenger, the standard info-transfer spell.

You could do some 1 dot artifact that allow to do that, though.

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What Broken25 said. They use messengers and such for communicating.

 

[veekie]

Sounds good.

 

[Spectrum]

By the way I made Rakshata a Sorceress. She only knows how to summon 1CD, because all other spells I found are useless in the modern world. help with that?

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Emerald Countermagic.

Honestly most spells can probably see some use even if they're not ideal. The buff spells are still going to have some value from a "shit is about to hit the fan I need some personal protection" kind of way. Skin of Bronze, Wood Dragon's Claw, etc. Impenetrable Frost Barrier might actually be really good now given everyone uses ranged weapons.

 

[veekie]

Emerald Countermagic.

Honestly most spells can probably see some use even if they're not ideal. The buff spells are still going to have some value from a "shit is about to hit the fan I need some personal protection" kind of way. Skin of Bronze, Wood Dragon's Claw, etc. Impenetrable Frost Barrier might actually be really good now given everyone uses ranged weapons.

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Skin of Bronze yes. Wood Dragon's Claw is massively trumped by Mind Hand Manipulation. Impenetrable Frost Barrier...well there's the Mind Hand upgrade she doesn't have yet, but this is good.

I wonder though...does Cytherea have a Summon Elemental variant which CREATES a new elemental?

 

[Spectrum]

Skin of Bronze yes. Wood Dragon's Claw is massively trumped by Mind Hand Manipulation. Impenetrable Frost Barrier...well there's the Mind Hand upgrade she doesn't have yet, but this is good.

I wonder though...does Cytherea have a Summon Elemental variant which CREATES a new elemental?

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I don't know what the MHM upgrade does but IFB will protect her entire area, so unless MHM can also do that it still has utility.

 

[veekie]

MHM upgrade gives her a shield bonus to DV equal to her essence from a forcefield around her. IFB covers a bigger area though

 

[Spectrum]

MHM upgrade gives her a shield bonus to DV equal to her essence from a forcefield around her. IFB covers a bigger area though

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Hmm. Shield bonus to DV of essence vs External penalty of twice essence. Of course, MHM is more versatile because it's not rooted to an area. IFB doesn't preclude having a personal shield from equipment, though.