- Location
- West Michigan
I would be disappointed, but at that point using a ten thousand-strong workforce to spam Artifacts (N/A) is probably more effort-efficient.
Infernal Conundrum: [Exalted/Worm] - Part 2: Hell is Other Exalts
Thief of Words
Trans lesbian librarian
- Location
- Best book girl
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I AM, yes. However, that was the work of multiple millenia old Solars.
Hm, with virtues in 2 you have 12% chance of botch. Even with virtue in 5 you still have like ~6.5%. I think that's the main reason many ST just houserule that virtues checks can't be botched. In oWoD there were clear mechanics associated with it, and in Exalted there is none (?).
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Wouldn't it be another house rule then? Or do you mean to spend willpower before roll to ensure it won't be botched?
IIRC in rulebooks there isn't any example for what a botched virtue roll can mean, only for failed rolls.
Generally, it shouldn't be a problem, as virtue usually only is rolled when you decide to act against it (outside of acting against compulsion effects and so on). But in this case Thief of Words rolls to act in accordance to them in mundane situations, which makes these rolls a lot more frequent and effects a lot more strange.
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Well, yeah, possibly with an additional point of WP per botch severity. Thing is, it would be a house rule anyway.
Edit: will raising our virtues to 3+ make these checks less frequent? Of course, it would mean getting harder to act against them in return.
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Nope. The number of checks would at best remain the same, or even become more frequent.
It would be the checks if we try to act against them, though. Otherwise it makes no sense.
Thief of Words
Trans lesbian librarian
- Location
- Best book girl
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Only roll it when circumstances might prompt a virtue check. Which is a standard mechanic and how most to half of all Valor rolls happen. I just tend to remember to do so for things other than "this situation is terrifying, roll Valor".
And you're wrong: WP expenditure is only required to act against it. You roll them for other reasons than just that.
EDIT: In this case, having a Defiler encounter the "SCIENCE DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY!" of Tinkertech seemed an appropriate enough cause for a temperance roll vs being intrigued/aggravated by it.
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So you only roll if this is dramatically appropriate? I can get behind that.
Edit: I didn't state that you can't roll it in other situations, btw. I said usually, because otherwise you can roll temperance every time you see a bar regardless of its value and so on.
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Thief of Words
Trans lesbian librarian
- Location
- Best book girl
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yep. Otherwise sheer law of averages, plus my dice luck, would turn everyone into the Ebon Dragon in training. Or the Unconquered Sun in training. My dice kind of either fail gloriously or succeed gloriously. There is no middle ground.
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Worse really.
We can buy off a virtue botch when it's important with willpower, which, while not exactly EASY to get, is not very difficult if we grab SWLIHN Mythos. But a virtue compel comes with a limit cost to ignore...which would be a problem.
Obviously. I was asking about the other type of checks, if higher virtue value would make them less frequent, and already got the answer that it isn't the case. So yeah, it's back to some mechanical bonus versus possible WP expenditure and limit gain.
Thief of Words
Trans lesbian librarian
- Location
- Best book girl
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Please discuss something different. This is edging into deliberate meta gaming. I've said more than I should have had to on that subject already. Virtues in Exalted should be a reflection of your character, not a meta-minigame you try and mine for success.
Stop aiming to optimize at the expense of character development. If optimization is going to happen, it will be due to character development, and for no other reason. If everyone insists on attempting otherwise, you will kill this quest, because I will lose my interest.
I have tried to ask kindly about this. I have tried to offer alternatives. People ignored me when I asked.
Stop aiming to optimize at the expense of character development. If optimization is going to happen, it will be due to character development, and for no other reason. If everyone insists on attempting otherwise, you will kill this quest, because I will lose my interest.
I have tried to ask kindly about this. I have tried to offer alternatives. People ignored me when I asked.
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I think that, next time we do an XP vote, we should get an Occult specialty in Infernal Exalted, and/or Infernal Charms. Possibly Yozi as well.
I mean, it would be in character, considering Taylor 'is' one, and would want to know more about them, and how to use them.
I mean, it would be in character, considering Taylor 'is' one, and would want to know more about them, and how to use them.
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It's less everyone and more a few(+new posters) who keep bringing it up though? I do try to frame it from a combined IC attention focus, but it doesn't actually stir much discussion either of the times I did it.
Though most of that seems to happen in my sleep hours anyway...
Power testing might be a suitable time to pick up something of the sort. Both motivated to learn more of her powers, and to better use them. Uncertainty is not very certain about Infernal charms beyond the broadly observable, but power testing, followed by trying to figure out how it works from first principles via Essence sight might justify it.
Currently she's better off straight out buying Occult dots though.
Thief of Words
Trans lesbian librarian
- Location
- Best book girl
- Pronouns
- She/Her
That's fair. We're one update from Thread 2, so I'll just add a big, noticeable disclaimer in the index about it, so there'll be no excuse.
That'll help a little, hopefully. Probably be best to repeat the warning when announcing xp votes, since those bring out the worst* in us**.
On a related note, I'd suggest using a larger font for announcing discussion and voting periods.
*Optimizer/metagamer
*SV questers.
Thief of Words
Trans lesbian librarian
- Location
- Best book girl
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Duly noted.
Just as a note, I personally consider large amounts of The Book of Ten Thousand Scorpions to be deprecated. At some point I'll need to go through and clean it up, and also update it to include more modern Charmtech I've developed and published in one place or another.
In fact, have a temporary dump of more modern Charmtech before I get to work on the Book of Ten Thousand Scorpions. Hmm. Actually, I might just deprecate all of it, and make a new document salvaging what I can from the old stuff. A bunch of the Charmtech in that is p. bad.
Tornado's Castaway Toys
Cost: 5m, 1 Compassion Channel; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Freedom Lets Go
To Adorjan, weapons are just like feelings; things to be discarded at a whim. While this Charm is active, the warlock may reflexively ready mundane or improvised close combat weapons with a -0 DV penalty. This includes scavenging improvised weapons from the environment or picking up a dropped weapon. When the Infernal's anima is at the 8-10 mote level or higher, she may even form silent gale-blades from the burning light of her soul, which may have the form of any mundane close combat weapon.
In addition, the Infernal treats all mundane close combat weapons as if they were their closest equivalent single or paired basic 1, 2 or 3-dot close-range white jade artifact weapon, as judged by the Storyteller. Improvised weapons benefit from this effect too. The murderous winds of Adorjan envelop the object, so a broom impales a man like a dire lance and chopsticks pierce like short daiklaives. Targets killed by an enhanced weapon are automatically targetted by a free activation of Kamilla's Sacred Inhalation. However, enhanced weapons only last for a single action - when the Infernal's DV next refreshes, they dissipate into wind and are destroyed. If the Infernal killed at least one enemy with the weapon and has an overdrive pool, she gains 2 overdrive motes when this occurs. She may only gain this benefit once per refresh of her DV.
If the Infernal uses this Charm to enhance mundane weapons stored within her Dread Panoply of the Silent Wind, the weapon is not destroyed, but returns to Elsewhere and may not be re-summoned until her DV refreshes yet again.
With a second purchase, this charm may enhance pre-existing ranged weapons or thrown objects. The warlock does not gain the capacity to create mundane ranged weapons from her anima. The maximum range of any enhanced weapon is the Infernal's Dash speed, the projectile disintegrating beyond that distance into red and white ribbons. In the case of weapons like bows or firewands, the weapon as well as the projectile is destroyed when the Infernal's DV refreshes.
Offcast Mad Whimsy
Cost: 20m, 1 lhl; Mins: Enlightenment 7; Type: Simple (10 ticks, DV-3)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Compulsion, Sorcerous, Shaping, Illusion, Touch
Duration: Four days
Prerequisites: Freedom Lets Go
When Adorjan discards her transient passions, sometimes they escape and lodge in the minds of others. Men were not meant to be the vessels of the such desires and so they are twisted and warped around the whim. This Charm may be used on any character with Enlightenment 2 or lower. The Infernal breathes out one of her Principles rated at 3 or lower in a red wind, losing it as if she had used Freedom Lets Go on it. She then rolls Persuasion + Expression against the target's Dodge MDV.
On a success, as a Shaping effect the target gains the discarded Principle which takes up residence in their soul as an Urge. This restructures their nature, rendering them an akuma of the Infernal and a Creature of Darkness. They gain a number of spirit Charms equal to the original level of the Principle, with themes associated with Adorjan and the nature of the Principle. As a Compulsion effect, they must act to further their Urge and must spend one willpower to ignore it for a scene. Their Enlightenment is raised to the original level of the Principle, if it was not already higher. They gain a mote pool calculated as if they were a first circle demon if it would be lower. They retain all their usual Attributes, Abilities, Principles and memories. At the end of the Charm's Duration, or if it is counterspelled, the Principle burns itself out of their mind and soul, taking everything they did while they were an akuma as an Illusion effect. If used as one of the Infernal's own clones made via Splintered Gale Shintai, the Duration is Instant and permanently alters the clone.
When an Infernal with Enlightenment 9+ uses this Charm, demons of the first circle and gods are always valid targets for this Charm regardless of their Enlightenment. At Enlightenment 10, use of this effect on a character of Enlightenment 0 character has a Duration of Instant and permanently subsumes them into the Infernal's Mythos, rebuilding their nature around the transitory delusion of a titan. This is equivalent to death and cannot be undone.
Untouched Whisperer Revelation
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Hateful Wretched Noise
Perhaps if Adorjan had come into being before the Incarnate Rebellion, she would have heard them plotting and scheming to take their leisure at the Games. Certainly, every least mumble of unseen gods is as audible to her as any other sound. The Infernal's sensory capabilities are modified in the following way; he can hear dematerialised creatures. This cannot be deactivated. As an Action-only reflexive action, he can choose to make himself so sensitive to the subtle resonances of essence that he can hear the dance of even the least gods who make up the head of a pin, and thus can make hearing-based awareness rolls to detect immaterial creatures even if they otherwise would be an invalid target for hearing; however, if he does this, the environment is counted as if the background noise is one step louder for the purposes of Hateful Wretched Noise.
Deafening Devotion Abhorrence
Cost: - (3m); Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Untouched Whisperer Revelation
There are no temples to Adorjan in Malfeas. To seek to draw her attention bears a great risk - and that risk is that one succeeds. This Charm allows the Exalt to hear individual prayers as though she were a spirit. This capability cannot be turned off and so counts towards the noise level for Hateful Wretched Noise - as a base guideline, if the Infernal has Cult rated at 3-4 her surrounding noise never falls below a whisper and if it is rated at 5+ it never falls below shouting. She must choose focus on individual prayers to hear their contents - otherwise their words are lost in the affront to her hush. Should she focus on a prayer, she knows exactly where it was made from so that she might extract her revenge.
The prayer opens a conduit down which sends a retaliatory slash of red wind howling down the threads of prayer at anyone who would pain them with noise. This thin gust erodes stone and bruises flesh, causing superficial cosmetic damage to the area. If the warlock pays attention to the prayer, she may spend 3m to intensify the wind. This inflicts one level of unsoakable lethal damage which ignores Hardness at everyone who participated in the prayer, and against any tools used in the course of the ceremony, including the temple.
If the Infernal has Eloquence in Unspoken Words active and the prayer was carried out in a place where she would not suffer a penalty from Hateful Wretched Noise, she may instead choose to warn them for their affront, allowing her to send one social attack or informative response to be on the red wind. This is conveyed as it would be through Eloquence in Unspoken Words.
Gleeful Unseen Discovery
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: One Tick
Prerequisites: Joy In Violence Approach
Adorjan finds the attempts of beings to hide from her in immateriality to be tedious. Their education that this will not help them, on the other hand, is highly amusing. On the tick this Charm is activated, immaterial beings are valid targets for the Infernal's close combat attacks. The standard penalty for attacks against a target the character cannot see applies as normal.
Bound by Blood-Red Strings
(Originally by Jon Chung)
Cost: -(+1w); Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Tragic Love Amusement
Lovers in Creation whisper of the blue strings of Fate, with which the Maiden of Serenity lovingly binds the fate of those destined to be. This is a comforting lie. While the binding cords of love exist, they are the deep crimson of heart's blood, and it is not Venus who wields them.
This Charm upgrades Tragic Love Amusement. The Infernal may commit the cost of Tragic Love Amusement in order to make the Intimacy it creates inviolate against any external influence while the commitment lasts, and grant her the ability to track her beloved wherever he may go, so long as he is on the same plane of existence. This knowledge manifests as a bloody red ribbon which only the Infernal can see.
While the commitment lasts, the Infernal receives her Compassion in bonus successes to track her love at all times, may always make a tracking roll even if no tracks exist to follow, and if she desires, she may spend 1 Willpower in order to automatically succeed at any tracking roll targeting her love with Compassion threshold successes. Should other magic contest this effect, add the Infernal's Essence in automatic successes to the rolloff.
If the Infernal knows Wind-Carried Passion, the Infernal may choose to bestow this ability upon those she targets with it by committing the cost of Tragic Love Amusement in the same way.
While Adorjan could not leave the Demon City save in dreams, the surrender oaths that protected the Solar Marus do not apply to the beloved of the Infernal Exalted. At Essence 4, this Charm may be repurchased. Doing so allows the Infernal to track their Intimacy across realms of existence, and if they choose to spend 1 Willpower to automatically succeed, they also know the method the target used to enter that realm of existence and how to follow them there.
Other Woman Identification
Cost: — ; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Bound By Blood Red Strings
The breezes of Adorjan tie her heart to others with blood-red strings, and those breezes wordlessly whisper many things to her. They tell her of the infidelities of attachment committed by those she loves, and how she can free them from those ties. This charm permanently enhances its prerequisite. Whenever the Infernal makes a roll to read the emotions and displayed Intimacies of a target who she has a Tragic Love Amusement intimacy towards, she automatically succeeds as if she had rolled twice the required number of successes. She learns all Intimacies the character has displayed in the current scene, and their context as they relate to characters who are present. In addition, she now gains the capacity to channel her Compassion towards any attempt to hurt any of those Intimacies; after all, she is doing it out of the maelstrom of her bountiful love.
Love-Born Sweet Fancies
Cost: 4m, 1wp, 1 comp c; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple (5 ticks, DV-2)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sorcerous, Pantheon
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Tragic Love Amusement
Imre the jade-winged Archer Upon the Clouds releases his arrows which fall like rain upon the layers of Malfeas. They seek out those who manage to flee the instruction of the Silent Wind, bearing her affectionate teachings, bringing heartbreak and enlightenment together. Such is love. Upon learning this Charm, the Infernal stirs a new soul to life within them that exists to carry the messages of their heart. When she uses this charm, she weaves a dream or flight of fancy from her boundless compassion which lasts no longer than 444 seconds, targeting a character the Infernal has an intimacy towards. The contents of the dream can be used to make a social attack with a speed no longer than seven long ticks which may be enhanced with charms as normal.
This vision travels down the blood-red ties of love, travelling at forty thousand miles an hour. Once the dream has found the target character, they experience it the next time they sleep and will recall it upon waking. The context of the Intimacy the Infernal used to channel this message is made Obvious to the target, because it flavours every part of the fancy. The Infernal may not reuse this charm against a character until they have experienced the previous dream. Should the target character be within an area warded against scrying, the dream will not find them until the next time they leave a protected area.
This charm may be repurchased at Essence 4. Once the character experience the dream, a Sorcerous blessing is applied to the target. The dream recurs whenever the character sleeps, any social attack likewise repeating. Men have been driven mad, knowing that no matter how far they run they cannot escape the visions that come at night. Only one sorcerous dream may affect a character at once, and should this charm be reused the new dream will overwrite the old.
Seven Nights Shintai
Cost: 12m, 1 lhl, 1 comp c; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple (15 ticks, DV-2)
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Form-Type
Duration: One dream
Prerequisites: Love-Born Sweet Fancies, Bound by Blood Red Strings
Closing her eyes, a happy smile appears on the warlock's face. She smiles because she knows she will dream of her love. Her body tears apart into a cloud of blood-soaked threads which disperse on a sudden gale, leaving her empty skin behind. Upon activating this charm, the character selects one of her Tragic Love Amusement intimacies currently in the same plane of existence.
The next time the target sleeps, they find themselves in a dreamscape made up of the Infernal's dream body. The Infernal builds the dreamscape as if she had accumulated (Essence + Compassion) successes for Adorjan World-Shaping Cosmogenesis. Whenever she channels Compassion on an action within the dreamscape, she may reassign these successes. The Infernal is both world and avatar, and possesses a body with her normal Attributes. In addition, her senses simultaneously observe from all points within the dreamscape as though using All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight, though she does not pay attention to all points equally, thus permitting stealth.
To the target, the dreamscape is unreal. Though mote expenditures and health levels should be tracked, they are just the product of their imagination and return to their original values when they wake. Willpower and virtue channels lost in the dream are really gone, however. By contrast, the Infernal is physically in the dream and any motes they spend and damage they take are real. When the Charm ends, the Infernal reforms within her empty skin. If her skin has been destroyed, she reforms where she left it and takes 3ahl from her presently skinless condition.
The target character does not automatically realise that there is anything unnatural about the dream, though with 4 successes on a Wits + Occult roll they can realise the hellish note to the landscape. Should the character 'die' by the hand of another in the dream, they wake having lost 1wp from psychic shock and are shaken but otherwise fine. Attempted suicide, however, is not the way out - they 'wake' into another dreamscape, allowing the Infernal to reallocate the points and extending the duration of the charm. They may escape otherwise by finding a symbolic exit within the dreamscape and spending one willpower. At least one such exit must be included, though the Infernal may hide it. The charm terminates after a dream-scene or - obviously - if the character kills the Infernal.
At Essence 5, this charm may be repurchased allowing it to target characters currently in different realms of existence to the Infernal. Should the Endless Desert separate the two of them, the blood soaked ribbons of the warlock form must travel across Cecelyne before it can reach their beloved. It is as yet unknown how the Silent Wind managed to slip into the dreams of the father of the Four Winds.
Cost: 5m, 1 Compassion Channel; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Freedom Lets Go
To Adorjan, weapons are just like feelings; things to be discarded at a whim. While this Charm is active, the warlock may reflexively ready mundane or improvised close combat weapons with a -0 DV penalty. This includes scavenging improvised weapons from the environment or picking up a dropped weapon. When the Infernal's anima is at the 8-10 mote level or higher, she may even form silent gale-blades from the burning light of her soul, which may have the form of any mundane close combat weapon.
In addition, the Infernal treats all mundane close combat weapons as if they were their closest equivalent single or paired basic 1, 2 or 3-dot close-range white jade artifact weapon, as judged by the Storyteller. Improvised weapons benefit from this effect too. The murderous winds of Adorjan envelop the object, so a broom impales a man like a dire lance and chopsticks pierce like short daiklaives. Targets killed by an enhanced weapon are automatically targetted by a free activation of Kamilla's Sacred Inhalation. However, enhanced weapons only last for a single action - when the Infernal's DV next refreshes, they dissipate into wind and are destroyed. If the Infernal killed at least one enemy with the weapon and has an overdrive pool, she gains 2 overdrive motes when this occurs. She may only gain this benefit once per refresh of her DV.
If the Infernal uses this Charm to enhance mundane weapons stored within her Dread Panoply of the Silent Wind, the weapon is not destroyed, but returns to Elsewhere and may not be re-summoned until her DV refreshes yet again.
With a second purchase, this charm may enhance pre-existing ranged weapons or thrown objects. The warlock does not gain the capacity to create mundane ranged weapons from her anima. The maximum range of any enhanced weapon is the Infernal's Dash speed, the projectile disintegrating beyond that distance into red and white ribbons. In the case of weapons like bows or firewands, the weapon as well as the projectile is destroyed when the Infernal's DV refreshes.
Offcast Mad Whimsy
Cost: 20m, 1 lhl; Mins: Enlightenment 7; Type: Simple (10 ticks, DV-3)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Compulsion, Sorcerous, Shaping, Illusion, Touch
Duration: Four days
Prerequisites: Freedom Lets Go
When Adorjan discards her transient passions, sometimes they escape and lodge in the minds of others. Men were not meant to be the vessels of the such desires and so they are twisted and warped around the whim. This Charm may be used on any character with Enlightenment 2 or lower. The Infernal breathes out one of her Principles rated at 3 or lower in a red wind, losing it as if she had used Freedom Lets Go on it. She then rolls Persuasion + Expression against the target's Dodge MDV.
On a success, as a Shaping effect the target gains the discarded Principle which takes up residence in their soul as an Urge. This restructures their nature, rendering them an akuma of the Infernal and a Creature of Darkness. They gain a number of spirit Charms equal to the original level of the Principle, with themes associated with Adorjan and the nature of the Principle. As a Compulsion effect, they must act to further their Urge and must spend one willpower to ignore it for a scene. Their Enlightenment is raised to the original level of the Principle, if it was not already higher. They gain a mote pool calculated as if they were a first circle demon if it would be lower. They retain all their usual Attributes, Abilities, Principles and memories. At the end of the Charm's Duration, or if it is counterspelled, the Principle burns itself out of their mind and soul, taking everything they did while they were an akuma as an Illusion effect. If used as one of the Infernal's own clones made via Splintered Gale Shintai, the Duration is Instant and permanently alters the clone.
When an Infernal with Enlightenment 9+ uses this Charm, demons of the first circle and gods are always valid targets for this Charm regardless of their Enlightenment. At Enlightenment 10, use of this effect on a character of Enlightenment 0 character has a Duration of Instant and permanently subsumes them into the Infernal's Mythos, rebuilding their nature around the transitory delusion of a titan. This is equivalent to death and cannot be undone.
Untouched Whisperer Revelation
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Hateful Wretched Noise
Perhaps if Adorjan had come into being before the Incarnate Rebellion, she would have heard them plotting and scheming to take their leisure at the Games. Certainly, every least mumble of unseen gods is as audible to her as any other sound. The Infernal's sensory capabilities are modified in the following way; he can hear dematerialised creatures. This cannot be deactivated. As an Action-only reflexive action, he can choose to make himself so sensitive to the subtle resonances of essence that he can hear the dance of even the least gods who make up the head of a pin, and thus can make hearing-based awareness rolls to detect immaterial creatures even if they otherwise would be an invalid target for hearing; however, if he does this, the environment is counted as if the background noise is one step louder for the purposes of Hateful Wretched Noise.
Deafening Devotion Abhorrence
Cost: - (3m); Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Untouched Whisperer Revelation
There are no temples to Adorjan in Malfeas. To seek to draw her attention bears a great risk - and that risk is that one succeeds. This Charm allows the Exalt to hear individual prayers as though she were a spirit. This capability cannot be turned off and so counts towards the noise level for Hateful Wretched Noise - as a base guideline, if the Infernal has Cult rated at 3-4 her surrounding noise never falls below a whisper and if it is rated at 5+ it never falls below shouting. She must choose focus on individual prayers to hear their contents - otherwise their words are lost in the affront to her hush. Should she focus on a prayer, she knows exactly where it was made from so that she might extract her revenge.
The prayer opens a conduit down which sends a retaliatory slash of red wind howling down the threads of prayer at anyone who would pain them with noise. This thin gust erodes stone and bruises flesh, causing superficial cosmetic damage to the area. If the warlock pays attention to the prayer, she may spend 3m to intensify the wind. This inflicts one level of unsoakable lethal damage which ignores Hardness at everyone who participated in the prayer, and against any tools used in the course of the ceremony, including the temple.
If the Infernal has Eloquence in Unspoken Words active and the prayer was carried out in a place where she would not suffer a penalty from Hateful Wretched Noise, she may instead choose to warn them for their affront, allowing her to send one social attack or informative response to be on the red wind. This is conveyed as it would be through Eloquence in Unspoken Words.
Gleeful Unseen Discovery
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: One Tick
Prerequisites: Joy In Violence Approach
Adorjan finds the attempts of beings to hide from her in immateriality to be tedious. Their education that this will not help them, on the other hand, is highly amusing. On the tick this Charm is activated, immaterial beings are valid targets for the Infernal's close combat attacks. The standard penalty for attacks against a target the character cannot see applies as normal.
Bound by Blood-Red Strings
(Originally by Jon Chung)
Cost: -(+1w); Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Tragic Love Amusement
Lovers in Creation whisper of the blue strings of Fate, with which the Maiden of Serenity lovingly binds the fate of those destined to be. This is a comforting lie. While the binding cords of love exist, they are the deep crimson of heart's blood, and it is not Venus who wields them.
This Charm upgrades Tragic Love Amusement. The Infernal may commit the cost of Tragic Love Amusement in order to make the Intimacy it creates inviolate against any external influence while the commitment lasts, and grant her the ability to track her beloved wherever he may go, so long as he is on the same plane of existence. This knowledge manifests as a bloody red ribbon which only the Infernal can see.
While the commitment lasts, the Infernal receives her Compassion in bonus successes to track her love at all times, may always make a tracking roll even if no tracks exist to follow, and if she desires, she may spend 1 Willpower in order to automatically succeed at any tracking roll targeting her love with Compassion threshold successes. Should other magic contest this effect, add the Infernal's Essence in automatic successes to the rolloff.
If the Infernal knows Wind-Carried Passion, the Infernal may choose to bestow this ability upon those she targets with it by committing the cost of Tragic Love Amusement in the same way.
While Adorjan could not leave the Demon City save in dreams, the surrender oaths that protected the Solar Marus do not apply to the beloved of the Infernal Exalted. At Essence 4, this Charm may be repurchased. Doing so allows the Infernal to track their Intimacy across realms of existence, and if they choose to spend 1 Willpower to automatically succeed, they also know the method the target used to enter that realm of existence and how to follow them there.
Other Woman Identification
Cost: — ; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Bound By Blood Red Strings
The breezes of Adorjan tie her heart to others with blood-red strings, and those breezes wordlessly whisper many things to her. They tell her of the infidelities of attachment committed by those she loves, and how she can free them from those ties. This charm permanently enhances its prerequisite. Whenever the Infernal makes a roll to read the emotions and displayed Intimacies of a target who she has a Tragic Love Amusement intimacy towards, she automatically succeeds as if she had rolled twice the required number of successes. She learns all Intimacies the character has displayed in the current scene, and their context as they relate to characters who are present. In addition, she now gains the capacity to channel her Compassion towards any attempt to hurt any of those Intimacies; after all, she is doing it out of the maelstrom of her bountiful love.
Love-Born Sweet Fancies
Cost: 4m, 1wp, 1 comp c; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple (5 ticks, DV-2)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sorcerous, Pantheon
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Tragic Love Amusement
Imre the jade-winged Archer Upon the Clouds releases his arrows which fall like rain upon the layers of Malfeas. They seek out those who manage to flee the instruction of the Silent Wind, bearing her affectionate teachings, bringing heartbreak and enlightenment together. Such is love. Upon learning this Charm, the Infernal stirs a new soul to life within them that exists to carry the messages of their heart. When she uses this charm, she weaves a dream or flight of fancy from her boundless compassion which lasts no longer than 444 seconds, targeting a character the Infernal has an intimacy towards. The contents of the dream can be used to make a social attack with a speed no longer than seven long ticks which may be enhanced with charms as normal.
This vision travels down the blood-red ties of love, travelling at forty thousand miles an hour. Once the dream has found the target character, they experience it the next time they sleep and will recall it upon waking. The context of the Intimacy the Infernal used to channel this message is made Obvious to the target, because it flavours every part of the fancy. The Infernal may not reuse this charm against a character until they have experienced the previous dream. Should the target character be within an area warded against scrying, the dream will not find them until the next time they leave a protected area.
This charm may be repurchased at Essence 4. Once the character experience the dream, a Sorcerous blessing is applied to the target. The dream recurs whenever the character sleeps, any social attack likewise repeating. Men have been driven mad, knowing that no matter how far they run they cannot escape the visions that come at night. Only one sorcerous dream may affect a character at once, and should this charm be reused the new dream will overwrite the old.
Seven Nights Shintai
Cost: 12m, 1 lhl, 1 comp c; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple (15 ticks, DV-2)
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Form-Type
Duration: One dream
Prerequisites: Love-Born Sweet Fancies, Bound by Blood Red Strings
Closing her eyes, a happy smile appears on the warlock's face. She smiles because she knows she will dream of her love. Her body tears apart into a cloud of blood-soaked threads which disperse on a sudden gale, leaving her empty skin behind. Upon activating this charm, the character selects one of her Tragic Love Amusement intimacies currently in the same plane of existence.
The next time the target sleeps, they find themselves in a dreamscape made up of the Infernal's dream body. The Infernal builds the dreamscape as if she had accumulated (Essence + Compassion) successes for Adorjan World-Shaping Cosmogenesis. Whenever she channels Compassion on an action within the dreamscape, she may reassign these successes. The Infernal is both world and avatar, and possesses a body with her normal Attributes. In addition, her senses simultaneously observe from all points within the dreamscape as though using All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight, though she does not pay attention to all points equally, thus permitting stealth.
To the target, the dreamscape is unreal. Though mote expenditures and health levels should be tracked, they are just the product of their imagination and return to their original values when they wake. Willpower and virtue channels lost in the dream are really gone, however. By contrast, the Infernal is physically in the dream and any motes they spend and damage they take are real. When the Charm ends, the Infernal reforms within her empty skin. If her skin has been destroyed, she reforms where she left it and takes 3ahl from her presently skinless condition.
The target character does not automatically realise that there is anything unnatural about the dream, though with 4 successes on a Wits + Occult roll they can realise the hellish note to the landscape. Should the character 'die' by the hand of another in the dream, they wake having lost 1wp from psychic shock and are shaken but otherwise fine. Attempted suicide, however, is not the way out - they 'wake' into another dreamscape, allowing the Infernal to reallocate the points and extending the duration of the charm. They may escape otherwise by finding a symbolic exit within the dreamscape and spending one willpower. At least one such exit must be included, though the Infernal may hide it. The charm terminates after a dream-scene or - obviously - if the character kills the Infernal.
At Essence 5, this charm may be repurchased allowing it to target characters currently in different realms of existence to the Infernal. Should the Endless Desert separate the two of them, the blood soaked ribbons of the warlock form must travel across Cecelyne before it can reach their beloved. It is as yet unknown how the Silent Wind managed to slip into the dreams of the father of the Four Winds.
:: SIDEBAR - Embrace the darkness, Yakai::
For the purposes of all Ebon Dragon Charms whose functionality changes in direct illumination, other characters unable to perceive light or who are blind treat themselves and the Infernal as being in a state of no visibility. This specifically refers to light; characters who can act as if they are not blind through superhuman hearing or some other mechanism are still treated as being blind. The Infernal does not take account of their own capacity to see, as their Essence recoils from the light whether or not they can perceive it. However, their own anima does not count as illumination for the purposes of Ebon Dragon Charms, unless specified otherwise.
:: END SIDEBAR::
::SIDEBAR - The Doomed and the Damned::
It is written in the most ancient of texts which talk of the Shadow of All Things that he loves the doomed and dying, especially those who in their death will change the world. Perhaps that is the reason that he invented the concept of Fate - to fill Creation, as he sees it, with beauty. For the purposes of Ebon Dragon Charms, the following categories of being count as Doomed;
Those whose purpose in life is steadily slipping into shadow, dreams and wishes accented by ignorance and ash; this describes characters whose Motivations have been rendered impossible, but have yet to acquire a new one, or whose Motivations are opposed by their Destiny, or who have negative Intimacies towards themselves. Those who have a majority of their Intimacies directed toward doomed or destroyed things also count, as do those who are in a mental state such that they would accept Unacceptable Orders.
Those whose own vitality is ebbing away, their life made rarer and more valuable by the moment; characters suffering from terminal Sickness qualify, as do those who have been reduced to -4 health levels. Characters suffering from Poison that deals enough damage to potentially kill them with the current dosage are also considered doomed, as are those under the effects of any of the Ebon Dragon's nocturnal venoms. Ghosts and other creatures of death are automatically considered doomed.
Those who are frustrated in their efforts, desperation that is beautiful only as long as it remains futile; this covers characters suffering from any kind of long-term penalty (i.e. one expected to last at least a scene) that reduces her dice pools or rolled successes by at least -4. If this penalty is internal, it qualifies the character even if they manage to ignore it through magic or other methods.
The condition which puts a doomed character in that state is referred to as their doom; alleviating a doom involves removing the root condition rather than the symptoms. For example if a character is at a -4 wound penalty and has an open wound, healing the character or preventing them from bleeding to death would be alleviating the doom, but providing pain relief would not be.
Storytellers may, at their discretion, declare that other beings may count as doomed despite not technically falling into one of these groups; for example, a young Solar Exalt who labours to acquire the love of a great musician, unaware that his heart has gone to another, and who - when she discovers this - will try to throw her life away in battle may be judged to be doomed.
::END SIDEBAR::
Doomed To Die
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Compulsion
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: None
The Ebon Dragon is a creature of forbidden knowledge and dark secrets, a lover of those whose passing will change the world. He cares for those who fall under his domain with the same tender care with which his shadow protects the natives of Malfeas from the light of Ligier. This Charm permanently modifies the Infernal in the following ways;
The Infernal adds their Essence in automatic successes to rolls to the following ends; to determine the nature of a Sickness or Poison affecting a character, to diagnose injury, and to understand the cause of heartbreak or distress. Explicitly, this bonus may not be used to alleviate any of the above. In addition, it also applies to astrology rolls and to Awareness rolls against doomed characters.
Positive Intimacies towards doomed characters do not count towards the character's limit of (Willpower + Compassion). The Infernal may maintain such Intimacies even if other Charms would forbid them from possessing Intimacies.
The Infernal only requires a scene of interaction or persuasion to build a positive Intimacy towards doomed characters.
The sight of those whom Fate has condemned is beautiful in the eyes of the Infernal, and they are reluctant to avert it. They treat doomed characters as having a minimum Appearance of three in social combat. The Infernal is also under a Compulsion not to help alleviate the doom of another doomed character. This can be resisted for a day with the expenditure of two willpower.
Hidden Springs Sips
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Doomed to Die
Even before his captivity, the Shadow of All Things ventured deep into the lightless heart of Creation, and drank from darkened springs which no being should sup from, in a quest to learn all he could about that which has always fascinated him. He could tell many things of the origin of the Well of Udr, though those are secrets he keeps in his hollow heart. A successful Awareness-based roll against a doomed character while this Charm is active makes their doom Obvious to the Infernal, and in addition, if they are a ghost, each degree of success on the roll reveals one Passion. When this Charm is active, the Infernal is capable of seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling - but not touching - immaterial doomed characters, rendering them valid targets for Awareness actions. They are perceived as tenebral, colourless figures, wan and yet fair.
Painless Passing Caress
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sorcerous, Obvious, Touch, Emotion
Duration: Lesser of (Until next sunrise) or (Essence + Compassion hours)
Prerequisites: Doomed to Die
A passing where pain does not obstruct the change one's final actions will have on the world; this is the mercy of the Ebon Dragon. In the place of agony is left emptiness, shadows seeping into flesh and hollowing out agony and distress. This Charm cancels up to (Essence) points of the target's internal penalties from Sickness, Poison, deprivation, exposure to environmental conditions, or injuries, and in addition grants them (Essence) temporary -0 health levels. Each scene spent with this Charm active counts as a scene towards building an Intimacy of "My Death (Calm Acceptance)" in the target. This Emotion can be resisted at a cost of one willpower a scene.
At Essence 3, this Charm can be repurchased to affect social units with a Magnitude no greater than (Essence) with a surcharge of +3m, 1wp. Activating the Charm in this way requires the Infernal to be leading the unit, or to touch the leader.
Last Days' Bequest
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sorcerous, Compulsion
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Doomed to Die
There are those is this world who are doomed, and yet do not fight their doom; accepting it and so choosing to use their ending to change the world. The Ebon Dragon looks upon them with great affection, and from within his jail will sometimes send his benefaction out to sit in the dark places behind their eyes. The Infernal may activate this Charm when they are within (Essence) yards of a living doomed character, which may not be themselves. Doing so sends a tiny sliver of shadowy essence wriggling out of the Infernal's mouth, which brushes against the lips of the target.
While under the effects of this Charm, the target does not need to sleep, and does not get fatigued. Their pains are numbed, halving all internal penalties due to wound penalties, sickness or poison. They receive an automatic success on all rolls, or a number equal to half the Infernal's Essence if the roll would bring them closer to death or further their Motivation. This counts as dice granted by Charms. However, they are also under a Compulsion to not attempt to avert their doom. This costs one willpower to resist for a scene (which suppresses the benefits of this Charm), or five willpower to throw off entirely, which must be paid all at once and which ends the Charm. The effects of this Charm automatically end if the target ceases to be doomed.
It is possible for the target to unconsciously reject the gift for a cost of one Willpower, thereby avoiding the blessing and its associated drawbacks. This effect is not Obvious, however, so
the target's player only knows the positive things this Charm grants, without learning anything about the source of the effect or the costs.
Existence Escaping Sinuation
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Illusion, Obvious
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Cracked Cell Circumvention
The Ultimate Darkness does not exist, but he tells Nirguna he does, and the shinma is fooled. Sometimes he squirms free from his own lies, escaping from the petty confines of logic and reality. The Infernal rolls (Manipulation + Socialise) coaxing a horrified acknowledgement of her unreality from Nirguna. She counts as having Essence in automatic successes when she is not directly illuminated.. All colour fades from her form, and those who look closely can see the smoke-like effervescence of her translucent silhouette. Characters whose DMDV is exceeded by the Infernal's roll cannot overcome their instinctual refusal to acknowledge what they perceive. This Charm exerts an unnatural Illusion on anyone who sees the Infernal, removing all perception of her or her actions from the minds of those affected. Resisting this for a scene costs four willpower, or one if someone points the Infernal out to the target or she is directly illuminated. The Illusion also automatically passes into abeyance for a target if the Infernal interacts with them in any way, which lasts until they can no longer perceive the Infernal.
Characters who perceived the Infernal while this Charm was active remain under the effects of the Illusion. The mind flees from the horror of unbeing, and they will not remember what they truly saw without external prompting; even then, it costs four willpower to shed the comforting shadows the Dragon leaves behind.
All-Things Shadow
Cost: - (1wp); Minimum: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Loom Snarling Deception
The Ebon Dragon is the Shadow of All Things. Why would he be constrained to a single false face? This Charm permanently improves Loom Snarling Deception. With the expenditure of one willpower and a Simple action when Loom Snarling Deception is active, the Infernal may change their appearance as if they had just reactivated that Charm. Any upgrades which apply to Loom Snarling Deception also apply to reactivations of this Charm.
In addition, the Infernal gains the capacity, when activating Loom Snarling Deception, to shed the idea that they might tell just one lie about their nature. Instead, if activated in this modified way, their features, gender, Fate and every other feature which Loom Snarling Deception could affect shift constantly, unseen shadows reaching out to cloud the minds of men. This is Obviously supernatural, but means any attempts to mundanely draw conclusions about the true identity of the Infernal are invalid actions, and Charm-boosed attempts add the Infernal's (Essence + Socialise) in automatic successes to the Charm roll-off. The constant low-level changes to Fate this constant vandalism causes is not severe enough to count as a full Blasphemy, but the spiritual noise imposes a non-cumalative external penalty of -1 to all attempts to use astrology on any target who has been within (Essence)-hundred yards of an Infernal with this active in the past five days.
Skulking Shadow Shintai
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple (Speed 7, DV-2)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Form-Type
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Loom Snarling Deception, Bloodless Murk Evasion
In the dark places of the catacombs of Malfeas lurks the Ultimate Darkness, hidden away from the prideful gaze of Ligier. Those who think that they need only watch for the Ebon Dragon do not think to see what might be hidden right behind them. Upon activating this Charm, the Infernal and her possessions become a shadow of what they once were, flesh and matter shedding the temporary falsehood of solidity. She is rendered a featureless, tar-like mass of faintly translucent darkness; amorphous and somehow not quite of this world.
* Within his uttermost darkness, the Dragon is safe. Only harmful effects enhanced or created by Essence, or which are sources of light, have enough metaphysical potency to affect her, inflicting wounds in the form of disintegrated oozing sections of living shadow. Mundane weapons pass harmlessly through the shadows of the Infernal's form, mundane acid may not burn her, mundane poison or disease have no effect, she does not suffer from lack of food or water or air and so on. She is vulnerable to fire, however - a sword dipped in burning oil or a lit torch can do what bare hands could not - and an Exalt with an anima at the 7-10 mote level or higher always counts as a source of light. Her own anima does not count as light for the purposes of this Charm.
* This tenebral form is spun of Essence, and not subject to the limitations of solid form. She has no weight, and may freely move through any obstacle or barrier Bloodless Murk Evasion could be used to bypass. She may dodge freely without regard for having physical room to do so, may not physically clinch or be clinched, and may not be subjected to Blockade Movement, except by sources of light. She is mutable, and may lie flat against the ground to crawl in someone's shadow or stretch to cover a ceiling. She may still act normally despite this ephemeral form, as in the exact instant that the Infernal chooses to act, her shadow body takes on rough humanoid semblance to perform that action and exerts force as though solid.
* The shadow is left by all things and none. The Infernal's identity is impossible to determine. Should this effect be contested by other magic, the Infernal receives [Essence] bonus successes to contest it. In addition, she may always attempt to enter Stealth, regardless of any cover or lack thereof. If she is killed while in the form of the Skulking Shadow, she melts away in even the least light, leaving no corpse.
* The mind rebels to see a shadow without a light. While the Infernal is under the effects of this Charm, she enjoys the benefits of the Solar Stealth Charm Easily Overlooked Presence Method. This effect fails if fully illuminated, though stunting can allow the character to find dark places - such as the shadow of a target, or under the bed.
*The Skulking Shadow is a thing of the dark places of the world, and cannot bear to be illuminated; indeed, the world rejects it. The Infernal suffers a -2 internal penalty to all actions when fully illuminated, the painful light wracking her tenebral flesh. She is under a Compulsion to avoid direct illumination and retreat away from it. This Compulsion can be ignored for a scene by spending two willpower.
At Essence 4 this Charm automatically upgrades, its duration becoming Indefinite.
My Dark Lady
Cost: - ; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Witness to Darkness
To those whose eyes are opened under the Shadow of All Things, he is a thing of wonderful beauty. Erembour is said to be as fair as the Argent Madonna, and she comes by her looks as honestly as any soul of the Ebon Dragon can. When not in direct illumination, the Infernal doubles the maximum MDV bonus or penalty he can inflict or benefit from based on difference in Appearance. In addition, when under this effect his unwholesome beauty leads men and women to revel and indulge. All social attacks he makes designed to form Intimacies of love or infatuation (whether towards himself or another), or to prompt another to suppress Temperance, are unnatural mental influence. If both conditions apply, the social attack costs an additional willpower to resist.
Kersigame hax variant
Mins: Enlightenment 7
This Charm enhances the warlock's social actions when he is not directly illuminated. He treats all existing Principles towards him based on desire, fascination or attraction as if their rating was one higher, to a maximum of 5. Extended social actions to form or reinforce a Principle of love or infatuation towards any target or to weaken a Temperance Principle take one fewer scenes, to a minimum of one.
Darkling Grace Complete
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Obvious, Pantheon
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: My Dark Lady
The melancholy waltzes of the Ebon Dragon are accompanied by a clamour of instruments, played by ten thousand thousand soul-born shade-beasts spawned from his sun-obscuring majesty. When the Infernal is not fully illuminated, she counts as having the required tools for any performance where she dances, sings, or plays music. The Things Which Lurk in Corners born from her shadow play them for her, using her characteristics, and may be enhanced with Charms as usual. For any performance which might need a certain number of assistants, she counts the darkling-beasts of her shadow as (Essence) magnitude. The flickering creatures also obey her will to create tenebral images, Essence flares and other strange sensory effects within (Essence x 10) yards of her - the creativity of the Shadow of All Things allows these to be used to deceive or confuse others, with an appropriate stunt.
At Essence 4+, the Infernal may, when not directly illuminated, freely stunt the appearance of her iconic anima banner, and may also make use of the spectrum of black colours invented by the Shadow of All Things, shifting its colour to darker shades (which does not change its mechanical effects).
Inebriating Coiling Waltz
Cost: 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Poison, Illusion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: My Dark Lady
A waltz, a song, a beautiful song; ah! It takes very little for the passions within men to rise to the surface. This Charm can enhance an action to dance, sing, make music or otherwise entertain with the means beloved by the Yozis. The successes on the action should be compared to the target's dodge MDV. If it beats the MDV of the target, they are affected by a mind-cloying poison of the Ebon Dragon which has the statistics and psychological effects of mundane alcohol. The internal penalty from the poison becomes an external penalty for Virtue rolls, as an Illusion effect. When a roll is penalised in this way, the afflicted character sees for a moment the haze of shadows floating around them, their vision and judgement alike clouded.
A target can resist all penalties from this poison for a scene for one willpower. The penalty from this poison does not apply to actions to dance, sing, make music, or indulge in activities which would require a character with Temperance 3+ to suppress that virtue.
Melancholy Free Wildness
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Desecration, Obvious, Servitude, Social
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Inebriating Coiling Waltz
The dances of the Yozis are not those of mortal men, and among their number, the Ebon Dragon dances along, revelling in his love for those who are fated to meet their destruction. Men who see such dances cannot help but be caught up in them. This Charm supplements a Performance-based social attack where the Infernal dances, sings, or otherwise engages in spectacle. Her songs and dances are infused with a sad slowness, that seeps into the heart, twisting it. If the attack succeeds, the target's Motivation is temporarily suppressed and replaced by the new Motivation "To Indulge in pleasure and the darkness in the knowledge that you are doomed". Immediately and at any point following, the target may pay four Willpower to reassert her own Motivation, which need not be paid all at once. Alternatively, the target can change his own Motivation to accept the imposed purpose as a true change, which renders them a Creature of Darkness as a Desecration effect. Not only does this change not cost experience, but the sense of the freedom of the knowledge that one's fate is decided restores all spent Willpower the first time this happens in a scene.
Moral Chains Cast Off
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Illusion, Training, Desecration
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Inebriating Coiling Waltz
In dark places the Ebon Dragon dances. There he offers those who join him freedom from the binds of the Virtues, and there they are enlightened. This Charm is a permanent modification to the Infernal's capabilities. While benefitting from My Dark Lady, all social attacks the Infernal makes where they dance, play music or promote revelry and indulgence are modified in the following way; an Illusion component is added into the social attack, which costs 0wp to resist.
Should the target not resist, a strange inversion comes across their Virtues until the Infernal's performance (or its enhancement) ceases, or they are exposed to direct illumination. While in this state of empty glee, they do not need to spend Willpower to suppress Virtues rated at 3+. Further, they receive a single point of Willpower the first time in a scene they act against the tenets of a Virtue, regardless of whether they had to suppress it or not, and it counts as (Virtue Rating) days towards training one of the following characteristics; Dexterity, Appearance, Manipulation, Socialise, Stealth, Performance, Larceny, or Willpower. This can also be used to train Ebon Dragon Charms. Characters who gain a dot in a characteristic from this Charm become Creatures of Darkness as a Desecration effect; any XP they gain from this must first go on paying off any XP debt they have accumulated. Characters may not Train if they are currently in XP debt.
Radiance Devouring Elegance
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sorcerous, Obvious
Duration: Until the performance ceases
Prerequisites: My Dark Lady
When the Ebon Dragon raises his voice in broken-hearted lament, even the light of Ligier dims to hear such woeful beauty. Lesser flames are less hard-hearted, and join him in his song, partaking of his nature. This charm supplements an action to make music, dance, sing or otherwise perform in any of the ways beloved of the Yozis. The character rolls her (Manipulation + Performance), adding her Essence in automatic successes. Any non-magical light source within (Appearance x 10) yards joins in the performance, invalidating its Stealth as if it was a 7-9 anima banner, and inverts its nature, consuming light where once it shed it. The visibility conditions of affected light sources (Exalted, p135) are inverted - for example, a bonfire permits no visibility within ten yards, murky vision from ten to twenty yards, and clear vision (if there would have been sufficient light beforehand) at greater distances.
If the Infernal knows Darkling Grace Complete, the Things Which Lurk In Corners which dwell in her shadow may continue the performance for her. When activating this Charm, she may choose to instead make the Duration "Until next sunrise" for a surcharge of four motes and one willpower.
At Essence 3, the range automatically increases to (Appearance + Essence) times ten yards. At Essence 5, the multiplier is fifty, rather than ten.
For the purposes of all Ebon Dragon Charms whose functionality changes in direct illumination, other characters unable to perceive light or who are blind treat themselves and the Infernal as being in a state of no visibility. This specifically refers to light; characters who can act as if they are not blind through superhuman hearing or some other mechanism are still treated as being blind. The Infernal does not take account of their own capacity to see, as their Essence recoils from the light whether or not they can perceive it. However, their own anima does not count as illumination for the purposes of Ebon Dragon Charms, unless specified otherwise.
:: END SIDEBAR::
::SIDEBAR - The Doomed and the Damned::
It is written in the most ancient of texts which talk of the Shadow of All Things that he loves the doomed and dying, especially those who in their death will change the world. Perhaps that is the reason that he invented the concept of Fate - to fill Creation, as he sees it, with beauty. For the purposes of Ebon Dragon Charms, the following categories of being count as Doomed;
Those whose purpose in life is steadily slipping into shadow, dreams and wishes accented by ignorance and ash; this describes characters whose Motivations have been rendered impossible, but have yet to acquire a new one, or whose Motivations are opposed by their Destiny, or who have negative Intimacies towards themselves. Those who have a majority of their Intimacies directed toward doomed or destroyed things also count, as do those who are in a mental state such that they would accept Unacceptable Orders.
Those whose own vitality is ebbing away, their life made rarer and more valuable by the moment; characters suffering from terminal Sickness qualify, as do those who have been reduced to -4 health levels. Characters suffering from Poison that deals enough damage to potentially kill them with the current dosage are also considered doomed, as are those under the effects of any of the Ebon Dragon's nocturnal venoms. Ghosts and other creatures of death are automatically considered doomed.
Those who are frustrated in their efforts, desperation that is beautiful only as long as it remains futile; this covers characters suffering from any kind of long-term penalty (i.e. one expected to last at least a scene) that reduces her dice pools or rolled successes by at least -4. If this penalty is internal, it qualifies the character even if they manage to ignore it through magic or other methods.
The condition which puts a doomed character in that state is referred to as their doom; alleviating a doom involves removing the root condition rather than the symptoms. For example if a character is at a -4 wound penalty and has an open wound, healing the character or preventing them from bleeding to death would be alleviating the doom, but providing pain relief would not be.
Storytellers may, at their discretion, declare that other beings may count as doomed despite not technically falling into one of these groups; for example, a young Solar Exalt who labours to acquire the love of a great musician, unaware that his heart has gone to another, and who - when she discovers this - will try to throw her life away in battle may be judged to be doomed.
::END SIDEBAR::
Doomed To Die
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Compulsion
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: None
The Ebon Dragon is a creature of forbidden knowledge and dark secrets, a lover of those whose passing will change the world. He cares for those who fall under his domain with the same tender care with which his shadow protects the natives of Malfeas from the light of Ligier. This Charm permanently modifies the Infernal in the following ways;
The Infernal adds their Essence in automatic successes to rolls to the following ends; to determine the nature of a Sickness or Poison affecting a character, to diagnose injury, and to understand the cause of heartbreak or distress. Explicitly, this bonus may not be used to alleviate any of the above. In addition, it also applies to astrology rolls and to Awareness rolls against doomed characters.
Positive Intimacies towards doomed characters do not count towards the character's limit of (Willpower + Compassion). The Infernal may maintain such Intimacies even if other Charms would forbid them from possessing Intimacies.
The Infernal only requires a scene of interaction or persuasion to build a positive Intimacy towards doomed characters.
The sight of those whom Fate has condemned is beautiful in the eyes of the Infernal, and they are reluctant to avert it. They treat doomed characters as having a minimum Appearance of three in social combat. The Infernal is also under a Compulsion not to help alleviate the doom of another doomed character. This can be resisted for a day with the expenditure of two willpower.
Hidden Springs Sips
Cost: 4m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Doomed to Die
Even before his captivity, the Shadow of All Things ventured deep into the lightless heart of Creation, and drank from darkened springs which no being should sup from, in a quest to learn all he could about that which has always fascinated him. He could tell many things of the origin of the Well of Udr, though those are secrets he keeps in his hollow heart. A successful Awareness-based roll against a doomed character while this Charm is active makes their doom Obvious to the Infernal, and in addition, if they are a ghost, each degree of success on the roll reveals one Passion. When this Charm is active, the Infernal is capable of seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling - but not touching - immaterial doomed characters, rendering them valid targets for Awareness actions. They are perceived as tenebral, colourless figures, wan and yet fair.
Painless Passing Caress
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sorcerous, Obvious, Touch, Emotion
Duration: Lesser of (Until next sunrise) or (Essence + Compassion hours)
Prerequisites: Doomed to Die
A passing where pain does not obstruct the change one's final actions will have on the world; this is the mercy of the Ebon Dragon. In the place of agony is left emptiness, shadows seeping into flesh and hollowing out agony and distress. This Charm cancels up to (Essence) points of the target's internal penalties from Sickness, Poison, deprivation, exposure to environmental conditions, or injuries, and in addition grants them (Essence) temporary -0 health levels. Each scene spent with this Charm active counts as a scene towards building an Intimacy of "My Death (Calm Acceptance)" in the target. This Emotion can be resisted at a cost of one willpower a scene.
At Essence 3, this Charm can be repurchased to affect social units with a Magnitude no greater than (Essence) with a surcharge of +3m, 1wp. Activating the Charm in this way requires the Infernal to be leading the unit, or to touch the leader.
Last Days' Bequest
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sorcerous, Compulsion
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Doomed to Die
There are those is this world who are doomed, and yet do not fight their doom; accepting it and so choosing to use their ending to change the world. The Ebon Dragon looks upon them with great affection, and from within his jail will sometimes send his benefaction out to sit in the dark places behind their eyes. The Infernal may activate this Charm when they are within (Essence) yards of a living doomed character, which may not be themselves. Doing so sends a tiny sliver of shadowy essence wriggling out of the Infernal's mouth, which brushes against the lips of the target.
While under the effects of this Charm, the target does not need to sleep, and does not get fatigued. Their pains are numbed, halving all internal penalties due to wound penalties, sickness or poison. They receive an automatic success on all rolls, or a number equal to half the Infernal's Essence if the roll would bring them closer to death or further their Motivation. This counts as dice granted by Charms. However, they are also under a Compulsion to not attempt to avert their doom. This costs one willpower to resist for a scene (which suppresses the benefits of this Charm), or five willpower to throw off entirely, which must be paid all at once and which ends the Charm. The effects of this Charm automatically end if the target ceases to be doomed.
It is possible for the target to unconsciously reject the gift for a cost of one Willpower, thereby avoiding the blessing and its associated drawbacks. This effect is not Obvious, however, so
the target's player only knows the positive things this Charm grants, without learning anything about the source of the effect or the costs.
Existence Escaping Sinuation
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Illusion, Obvious
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Cracked Cell Circumvention
The Ultimate Darkness does not exist, but he tells Nirguna he does, and the shinma is fooled. Sometimes he squirms free from his own lies, escaping from the petty confines of logic and reality. The Infernal rolls (Manipulation + Socialise) coaxing a horrified acknowledgement of her unreality from Nirguna. She counts as having Essence in automatic successes when she is not directly illuminated.. All colour fades from her form, and those who look closely can see the smoke-like effervescence of her translucent silhouette. Characters whose DMDV is exceeded by the Infernal's roll cannot overcome their instinctual refusal to acknowledge what they perceive. This Charm exerts an unnatural Illusion on anyone who sees the Infernal, removing all perception of her or her actions from the minds of those affected. Resisting this for a scene costs four willpower, or one if someone points the Infernal out to the target or she is directly illuminated. The Illusion also automatically passes into abeyance for a target if the Infernal interacts with them in any way, which lasts until they can no longer perceive the Infernal.
Characters who perceived the Infernal while this Charm was active remain under the effects of the Illusion. The mind flees from the horror of unbeing, and they will not remember what they truly saw without external prompting; even then, it costs four willpower to shed the comforting shadows the Dragon leaves behind.
All-Things Shadow
Cost: - (1wp); Minimum: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Loom Snarling Deception
The Ebon Dragon is the Shadow of All Things. Why would he be constrained to a single false face? This Charm permanently improves Loom Snarling Deception. With the expenditure of one willpower and a Simple action when Loom Snarling Deception is active, the Infernal may change their appearance as if they had just reactivated that Charm. Any upgrades which apply to Loom Snarling Deception also apply to reactivations of this Charm.
In addition, the Infernal gains the capacity, when activating Loom Snarling Deception, to shed the idea that they might tell just one lie about their nature. Instead, if activated in this modified way, their features, gender, Fate and every other feature which Loom Snarling Deception could affect shift constantly, unseen shadows reaching out to cloud the minds of men. This is Obviously supernatural, but means any attempts to mundanely draw conclusions about the true identity of the Infernal are invalid actions, and Charm-boosed attempts add the Infernal's (Essence + Socialise) in automatic successes to the Charm roll-off. The constant low-level changes to Fate this constant vandalism causes is not severe enough to count as a full Blasphemy, but the spiritual noise imposes a non-cumalative external penalty of -1 to all attempts to use astrology on any target who has been within (Essence)-hundred yards of an Infernal with this active in the past five days.
Skulking Shadow Shintai
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple (Speed 7, DV-2)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Form-Type
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Loom Snarling Deception, Bloodless Murk Evasion
In the dark places of the catacombs of Malfeas lurks the Ultimate Darkness, hidden away from the prideful gaze of Ligier. Those who think that they need only watch for the Ebon Dragon do not think to see what might be hidden right behind them. Upon activating this Charm, the Infernal and her possessions become a shadow of what they once were, flesh and matter shedding the temporary falsehood of solidity. She is rendered a featureless, tar-like mass of faintly translucent darkness; amorphous and somehow not quite of this world.
* Within his uttermost darkness, the Dragon is safe. Only harmful effects enhanced or created by Essence, or which are sources of light, have enough metaphysical potency to affect her, inflicting wounds in the form of disintegrated oozing sections of living shadow. Mundane weapons pass harmlessly through the shadows of the Infernal's form, mundane acid may not burn her, mundane poison or disease have no effect, she does not suffer from lack of food or water or air and so on. She is vulnerable to fire, however - a sword dipped in burning oil or a lit torch can do what bare hands could not - and an Exalt with an anima at the 7-10 mote level or higher always counts as a source of light. Her own anima does not count as light for the purposes of this Charm.
* This tenebral form is spun of Essence, and not subject to the limitations of solid form. She has no weight, and may freely move through any obstacle or barrier Bloodless Murk Evasion could be used to bypass. She may dodge freely without regard for having physical room to do so, may not physically clinch or be clinched, and may not be subjected to Blockade Movement, except by sources of light. She is mutable, and may lie flat against the ground to crawl in someone's shadow or stretch to cover a ceiling. She may still act normally despite this ephemeral form, as in the exact instant that the Infernal chooses to act, her shadow body takes on rough humanoid semblance to perform that action and exerts force as though solid.
* The shadow is left by all things and none. The Infernal's identity is impossible to determine. Should this effect be contested by other magic, the Infernal receives [Essence] bonus successes to contest it. In addition, she may always attempt to enter Stealth, regardless of any cover or lack thereof. If she is killed while in the form of the Skulking Shadow, she melts away in even the least light, leaving no corpse.
* The mind rebels to see a shadow without a light. While the Infernal is under the effects of this Charm, she enjoys the benefits of the Solar Stealth Charm Easily Overlooked Presence Method. This effect fails if fully illuminated, though stunting can allow the character to find dark places - such as the shadow of a target, or under the bed.
*The Skulking Shadow is a thing of the dark places of the world, and cannot bear to be illuminated; indeed, the world rejects it. The Infernal suffers a -2 internal penalty to all actions when fully illuminated, the painful light wracking her tenebral flesh. She is under a Compulsion to avoid direct illumination and retreat away from it. This Compulsion can be ignored for a scene by spending two willpower.
At Essence 4 this Charm automatically upgrades, its duration becoming Indefinite.
My Dark Lady
Cost: - ; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Witness to Darkness
To those whose eyes are opened under the Shadow of All Things, he is a thing of wonderful beauty. Erembour is said to be as fair as the Argent Madonna, and she comes by her looks as honestly as any soul of the Ebon Dragon can. When not in direct illumination, the Infernal doubles the maximum MDV bonus or penalty he can inflict or benefit from based on difference in Appearance. In addition, when under this effect his unwholesome beauty leads men and women to revel and indulge. All social attacks he makes designed to form Intimacies of love or infatuation (whether towards himself or another), or to prompt another to suppress Temperance, are unnatural mental influence. If both conditions apply, the social attack costs an additional willpower to resist.
Kersigame hax variant
Mins: Enlightenment 7
This Charm enhances the warlock's social actions when he is not directly illuminated. He treats all existing Principles towards him based on desire, fascination or attraction as if their rating was one higher, to a maximum of 5. Extended social actions to form or reinforce a Principle of love or infatuation towards any target or to weaken a Temperance Principle take one fewer scenes, to a minimum of one.
Darkling Grace Complete
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Obvious, Pantheon
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: My Dark Lady
The melancholy waltzes of the Ebon Dragon are accompanied by a clamour of instruments, played by ten thousand thousand soul-born shade-beasts spawned from his sun-obscuring majesty. When the Infernal is not fully illuminated, she counts as having the required tools for any performance where she dances, sings, or plays music. The Things Which Lurk in Corners born from her shadow play them for her, using her characteristics, and may be enhanced with Charms as usual. For any performance which might need a certain number of assistants, she counts the darkling-beasts of her shadow as (Essence) magnitude. The flickering creatures also obey her will to create tenebral images, Essence flares and other strange sensory effects within (Essence x 10) yards of her - the creativity of the Shadow of All Things allows these to be used to deceive or confuse others, with an appropriate stunt.
At Essence 4+, the Infernal may, when not directly illuminated, freely stunt the appearance of her iconic anima banner, and may also make use of the spectrum of black colours invented by the Shadow of All Things, shifting its colour to darker shades (which does not change its mechanical effects).
Inebriating Coiling Waltz
Cost: 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 1)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Poison, Illusion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: My Dark Lady
A waltz, a song, a beautiful song; ah! It takes very little for the passions within men to rise to the surface. This Charm can enhance an action to dance, sing, make music or otherwise entertain with the means beloved by the Yozis. The successes on the action should be compared to the target's dodge MDV. If it beats the MDV of the target, they are affected by a mind-cloying poison of the Ebon Dragon which has the statistics and psychological effects of mundane alcohol. The internal penalty from the poison becomes an external penalty for Virtue rolls, as an Illusion effect. When a roll is penalised in this way, the afflicted character sees for a moment the haze of shadows floating around them, their vision and judgement alike clouded.
A target can resist all penalties from this poison for a scene for one willpower. The penalty from this poison does not apply to actions to dance, sing, make music, or indulge in activities which would require a character with Temperance 3+ to suppress that virtue.
Melancholy Free Wildness
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Desecration, Obvious, Servitude, Social
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Inebriating Coiling Waltz
The dances of the Yozis are not those of mortal men, and among their number, the Ebon Dragon dances along, revelling in his love for those who are fated to meet their destruction. Men who see such dances cannot help but be caught up in them. This Charm supplements a Performance-based social attack where the Infernal dances, sings, or otherwise engages in spectacle. Her songs and dances are infused with a sad slowness, that seeps into the heart, twisting it. If the attack succeeds, the target's Motivation is temporarily suppressed and replaced by the new Motivation "To Indulge in pleasure and the darkness in the knowledge that you are doomed". Immediately and at any point following, the target may pay four Willpower to reassert her own Motivation, which need not be paid all at once. Alternatively, the target can change his own Motivation to accept the imposed purpose as a true change, which renders them a Creature of Darkness as a Desecration effect. Not only does this change not cost experience, but the sense of the freedom of the knowledge that one's fate is decided restores all spent Willpower the first time this happens in a scene.
Moral Chains Cast Off
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Illusion, Training, Desecration
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Inebriating Coiling Waltz
In dark places the Ebon Dragon dances. There he offers those who join him freedom from the binds of the Virtues, and there they are enlightened. This Charm is a permanent modification to the Infernal's capabilities. While benefitting from My Dark Lady, all social attacks the Infernal makes where they dance, play music or promote revelry and indulgence are modified in the following way; an Illusion component is added into the social attack, which costs 0wp to resist.
Should the target not resist, a strange inversion comes across their Virtues until the Infernal's performance (or its enhancement) ceases, or they are exposed to direct illumination. While in this state of empty glee, they do not need to spend Willpower to suppress Virtues rated at 3+. Further, they receive a single point of Willpower the first time in a scene they act against the tenets of a Virtue, regardless of whether they had to suppress it or not, and it counts as (Virtue Rating) days towards training one of the following characteristics; Dexterity, Appearance, Manipulation, Socialise, Stealth, Performance, Larceny, or Willpower. This can also be used to train Ebon Dragon Charms. Characters who gain a dot in a characteristic from this Charm become Creatures of Darkness as a Desecration effect; any XP they gain from this must first go on paying off any XP debt they have accumulated. Characters may not Train if they are currently in XP debt.
Radiance Devouring Elegance
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sorcerous, Obvious
Duration: Until the performance ceases
Prerequisites: My Dark Lady
When the Ebon Dragon raises his voice in broken-hearted lament, even the light of Ligier dims to hear such woeful beauty. Lesser flames are less hard-hearted, and join him in his song, partaking of his nature. This charm supplements an action to make music, dance, sing or otherwise perform in any of the ways beloved of the Yozis. The character rolls her (Manipulation + Performance), adding her Essence in automatic successes. Any non-magical light source within (Appearance x 10) yards joins in the performance, invalidating its Stealth as if it was a 7-9 anima banner, and inverts its nature, consuming light where once it shed it. The visibility conditions of affected light sources (Exalted, p135) are inverted - for example, a bonfire permits no visibility within ten yards, murky vision from ten to twenty yards, and clear vision (if there would have been sufficient light beforehand) at greater distances.
If the Infernal knows Darkling Grace Complete, the Things Which Lurk In Corners which dwell in her shadow may continue the performance for her. When activating this Charm, she may choose to instead make the Duration "Until next sunrise" for a surcharge of four motes and one willpower.
At Essence 3, the range automatically increases to (Appearance + Essence) times ten yards. At Essence 5, the multiplier is fifty, rather than ten.
Kimbery
Great Mother's Blessed Waters
Cost: 15m, 1lhl; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple (15 minute dramatic action)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Desecration, Sorcerous, Geomantic
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Tidal Renewal Discipline
Though Gaia may have included some water in her nature and been praised for her beauty, Kimbery has first claim upon the depths and rivers alike and will not let them go. This Charm allows a warlock to taint water, twisting anything which relies upon it. The Infernal sheds his blood, singing hymns to his own generosity. This is a fifteen minute dramatic action, and affects all bodies of water, including groundwater, within a radius of (Stamina x 100) yards around the Infernal. Over the course of the next day, the affected waters turn bitter and cold, flooding the affected area. The weather shifts, such that it rains frequently, even in the Deep South, and a residue of brightly coloured salts can be seen left on things affected by the tainted waters.
The waters of the Great Mother twist those who consume them. Any living being which gains the majority of their water in a given week from a tainted source rolls their (Stamina); failure means they gain a single Cosmetic mutation with an aquatic theme. Unintelligent creatures who get the majority of their food from mutated sources halve their Stamina for the purposes of this roll. Failures in later weeks mean they gain a 1-point mutation, up to a limit of (Infernal's Essence). Characters with at least one mutation from Kimberyian sources perceive the waters to be sweet and wholesome, and reduce the difficulty to find food within the water by their number of mutation points. Once water has been away from a tainted source for five days, or has been diluted down to being one-fifth tainted by volume, it no longer counts as coming from such a source.
Kimbery is generous and rewards those who pay her tribute through her presence. The Blessed Waters increase based on the value of the sacrifices made to Kimbery, the Infernal or any of their souls. At the end of each week, the radius increases by 25 yards for each dot of Resources sacrificed to it. The sum total of the sacrifices should be considered here - five Resources 1 sacrifices are not equivalent to a Resources 5 sacrifice. Ownership of the sacrificed objects passes to the Infernal.
Ocean Washed Words
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sea
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Tidal Renewal Discipline
Kimbery's waves have touched many shores and countless tongues have screamed desperate prayers to her. Such knowledge lurks within her depths. The Infernal can activate this Charm after meditating for (8-Essence, minimum 1) hours while submerged, allowing her to develop a basic understanding of a language commonly spoken within a region. She can speak, write, understand and otherwise communicate in that language. She is clearly not a native, and speaks with a notable Old Realm accent - specifically the dialect of the ancient Lintha. The language slips from the cold darkness of her mind when she ends this effect – alternatively, she can instantly acquire it as a Linguistics specialty, as a Training effect.
When the Sea keyword applies, the warlock may communicate in all and any languages spoken within the region.
Surging Tidal Retreat
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Intolerable Burning Truths
The Great Mother knows agony well. It was her companion in her earliest days, and it is her favoured tool now. No wonder she flows away from promised pain, letting her foes exhaust themselves before she comes crashing down upon their foolish heads. The warlock invokes this Charm against an attack. With flowing, inhuman grace she retreats away from the blow, moving up to ([Appearance + Athletics] x 4) yards away from them in any direction. The multiplier increases to x8 if her assailant is Reviled, or the attack uses fire or fire-aspected Essence. The Exalt chooses the direction and distance of her retreat, though it must be away from her attacker. This Charm is treated as a counterattack and so reduces the Infernal's DV by 1, cannot be used with another counterattack, and is resolved in step 9 of attack resolution.
Attention-Holding Grace
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 4 in long ticks)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion, Emotion, Social
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Mother Sea Mastery
A creature of unquestionable poise and elegance, every flowing word and inhumanly beautiful gesture from the Great Mother draws the eye and ear away from lesser beings. The Infernal rolls her (Appearance + Performance). All targets who can perceive her with a Dodge MDV lower than the successes on this roll are affected by an unnatural mental influence which compels them to stay in her company. They are obliged to ignore any other character who has a lower Appearance than the Infernal, unless they are competing for her attention or both obeying a direct command from her. Resisting this Compulsion for up to five minutes costs one willpower, and once they have spent three willpower they are immune for a scene.
Passion-Driven Malestrom
Cost: - (+4m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Compulsion, Emotion, Social
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Attention-Holding Grace
When one of the lesser forms of the Demon Sea takes human shape and walks among the hordes of Malfeas, flattering wars break out over her. This charm upgrades its prerequisite. By spending an additional four motes and one willpower when activating it, the warlock modifies the effects of Attention-Holding Grace. Characters under the effects of Attention-Holding Grace may now engage with other characters they perceive as rivals for the attention of the Infernal, if they are seeking to remove them as a threat.
If they have a positive Intimacy towards the Infernal, they treat it as a negative Intimacy towards any other character who competes for her affections. Additionally, if they already have an Intimacy of any kind towards the competitor, they treat it as a negative Intimacy. Characters affected by one of these modified Intimacies pay an extra willpower point to resist Attention-Holding Grace. If a character is under both of these effects the Intimacies stack and the cost is raised by two willpower, likely leading to bitter bloodshed.
Martyr's Open Endearment
Cost: 7m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
Keywords: Obvious, Compulsion
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Attention-Holding Grace
Wrapped in a mantle of victimhood, the Great Mother seeps into the impulsive and lonely hearts of those who would oppose her, and makes them hers and hers alone. This Charm surrounds the Infernal in an exquisite wide-eyed aura of supernatural vulnerability which seeps into the minds of those empty-hearted souls who do not love others, or those with weak minds who are controlled by their lusts. This negates any physical or social attack made against her unless the attacker succeeds on a reflexive resistance roll. The Infernal chooses when purchasing this Charm whether a Compassion roll or a Temperance roll is the appropriate means of resistance. These rolls are difficulty 1, and need only succeed once per action, regardless of the number of attacks made. This is unnatural mental influence which costs 3 willpower to resist for a scene.
This Charm may be repurchased for half the cost. The attacker must now roll the lower of Compassion and Temperance to attack the Infernal.
Beauty-Over-Truth
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Illusion
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisites: Attention-Holding Grace
It wasn't his fault! They'd always hated him! It was self defence! Upon activating this Charm, the Infernal rolls (Appearance + Performance), adding a number of automatic successes equal to his Essence. Observers with a Dodge MDV less than the number of rolled successes automatically rationalise anything they see the Infernal doing as being provoked or otherwise justified, as an Illusion effect which automatically affects the character too. If he cuts down a man in the middle of the street, well - they were an assassin going for a weapon. If he takes a sweet delicacy from an infant, he was just doing it to protect the child's health. Resisting the Illusion for the remainder of the scene costs two willpower points, or one willpower point if the Infernal threatens or harms the character or their possessions. The Illusion does not prevent targets from defending themselves, although they do so reluctantly, sure that this is all a misunderstanding.
Even after the Charm has ended, witnesses accept the justifications their mind produces and do not attempt to correct their recollection without external prompting and a personally compelling reason. The human mind is all-too-fallible and creates further justifications, meshing their recollections into a web of rationalisations. They must spend four Willpower points to accept the spite of a world which would deny such a beautiful creature just cause.
Carmine Mantled Emissary
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Pantheon
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Beauty-Over-Truth
Within the dark hidden places of his body, the Infernal coats the accumulated malice and hate of a world which unfairly persecutes him in a protective scarlet nacre, birthing a nascent hungry soul. When he nudges this newborn into wakefulness, it grows strong on the wrongful cruelties of harsh reality. The Infernal's player rolls ([Manipulation or Appearance] + Socialise), adding a number of automatic successes equal to the Exalt's Essence. An almost imperceptible halo of crimson light briefly forms around her head, before fading into intangibility. The first time in any day another character attempts to remember any way which they have been wronged or offended by the Infernal, or anything which would negatively affect her judgement of the character, she must reflexively roll (Intelligence + Socialise) and achieve more successes than the Infernal. If she fails, she can only remember the positive - in her memories, she rationalises them as being someone else's fault, brushes them over, or simply fails to remember them. Characters who have a negative Intimacy towards the Infernal and channel Conviction on this roll add successes rather than dice.
Grotto-of-Sweet-Songs Shintai
Cost: 15m, 1lhl; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple (Speed 10, -2 DV)
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Form-type, Obvious, Sorcerous, Emotion, Compulsion, Shaping
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Martyr's Open Endearment, Carmine Mantled Emissary
Across Creation, there are tales of lost castles beside the sea where all things are graceful and the inhabitants are fair beyond belief and of hidden grottos where beautiful witches await the visits of heroes. These are but half-remembered tales of the palaces of the Great Mother, and they are beyond mortal comprehension, for she is castle and grotto and unfairly-trapped princess alike. Making such tales a reality, the warlock's flesh surges to anchor itself and resculpt a graceless Creation.
The lower trunk of the Infernal's body bloats into immensity, fusing with the ground before sheathing itself in pearlescent beauty which can be mistaken for geography. This extends in a radius of (Essence x 5) yards around her, and does not move after activation. She may move her protruding torso within this area, but cannot move her corpulent bulk without deactivating this Charm. Otherwise, she may carry out any action that can be formed without the aid of legs.
Over the next minute, the Infernal's influence extends in a vast wave across a surrounding area no more significant than a large palace or small forest. Her anima suffuses the area, turning all into wonder and aesthetic artistry. All objects and non-sapient animals brought into this area are affected by an active Shaping effect which transforms them so they are artistic masterpieces with a Resources value equal to the Infernal's Essence (while still retaining their previous functionality). This includes objects in use by characters - even the tattered rags of slaves who wander into the area become fine robes. Natives of Malfeas are Shaped into beauty, and treat their Appearance as being equal to the Infernal's Essence if it would be lower, save for interactions with the Infernal herself. The aesthetics the transformation takes are perfectly suited to the Infernal's tastes and preferences, cast through the lens of Kimbery. Reviled characters and their possessions are immune to the Shaping effect, for they are not worthy. When this Charm ends or the character or object is removed from the affected area, the transformation reverses itself over the course of a minute or so, though traces will remain in non-artefact objects.
Any character with an MDDV lower than the Infernal's Appearance + Socialise + Essence is affected by an Illusion which leads them to believe that everything which occurs within the area is perfectly normal and reasonable, which can be resisted by spending 3wp. Characters who resist this effect can see the hellish taint to the twisted aesthetics with a Difficulty 3 roll of (Perception + Occult).
Within the grotto of such a beautiful empress, all hearts are swayed towards protecting such a fragile thing. All characters within the affected area are under a Compulsion to answer any attacks or threats against the Infernal in kind. Social attacks which would build a negative Intimacy or attack a positive Intimacy compel the listener to attempt to do the same against the misguided soul, while threats of physical violence - or heaven forbid, actual violence - compel violence in turn. This unnatural Compulsion can be resisted for one willpower per provocative act, and once a character has spent three willpower resisting this effect, they are immune for five days. Natives of Malfeas are only rendered immune for one day.
Each scene spent within the affected area counts as a scene towards building an intimacy of 'Adoring Devotion' towards the Infernal. Each consumed item of food or drink affected by the Shaping effect counts as an additional scene. This unnatural Emotion effect can be resisted for one willpower, and once a character has spent three willpower resisting this effect, they are immune to it for five days. If a character has consumed (Willpower) items of food or drink and possesses this Intimacy, they receive the Creature of Darkness mutation as a Desecration effect and become a Native of Malfeas, and may count time spent in the affected area as training for their Appearance, up to a cap of the Infernal's Essence. This makes the changes to their features permanent.
Rapturous Leech Rupture
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 10)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Great Mother's Tears
The sacred essence of the Great Mother is much too potent for the endless parasites who would seek to take advantage of her generosity. Their screams are some small penance. The Infernal invokes this charm whenever her attack would kill a character. Vitriolic essence surges into the target, dissolving and transmuting their mind, body and soul. They bloat and burst, spraying a pool of liquefied acidic viscera over the area. This creates an environmental hazard with a radius of (target's Essence x 2), lethal piercing damage of (target's Essence x 2), and trauma of (target's Essence), which screams with the voice of the deceased. Beloved characters are immune to this hazard, and cannot hear the moans. Fire can be used to dissipate the hazard, which burns away with a thick purple smoke if a single health level is done to it. It can also be drunk as if it was chalcanth, and provides (target's Essence) doses, though doing so inflicts a dose of the poison produced by Spiteful Sea Tincture to non-Beloved characters.
If a spirit is killed by an attack supplemented by this Charm, the death is permanent. Infernals with Essence 7+ can actually unravel the souls of beings with perfect reincarnation who normally resist permanent destruction, such as Dragon Kings and Jadeborn. Only Primordials, Neverborn and indestructible Exaltations are proof against the vengeance of Kimbery.
This Charm may be repurchased, so that this Charm's effects may be applied to damaging Kimberian poisons when they are created for no surcharge. This only takes effect if the poison kills the target.
Organ-Pulping Reprimand
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling
Duration: One action
Prerequisites: Intolerable Burning Truths
No harbour wall or jade-steel breastplate can guard against the vengeance of the Demon Sea, and her foes' flesh is left liquified and bloody within their armoured shell. This Charm enhances a physical attack, adding one to its minimum damage, giving it the piercing tag, and ignoring Hardness. In addition, as a Crippling effect damage from an attack enhanced by this Charm causes bleeding and heals as it would for a mortal, organs bursting and rupturing even while the armour remains untouched.
Lurking Indigo Haar
Cost: 10m, 1lhl; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Sorcerous
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Sea-Within-Veins Prana
Toxic and cloying, the Great Mother seeps into dark places within the Demon City and spreads her rising waters until they drown entire districts of the Demon City. Such does she spread her love to places which have never known her touch. While this Charm is active, the warlock's sea-blood hisses and steams out of pores and tear ducts, creating a thick multi-coloured miasma around her with a radius of (Essence) yards. Characters within this Sorcerous zone of cloying mist are considered to be underwater (Exalted, pp. 155) and so suffer the usual -2 external penalty to most movement, the need to hold their breath, and so on. Ranged attacks made into the zone from the outside also suffer the penalty to "movement", as twirling tendrils of fog twitch them off-course. Fire-based attacks (such as flaming arrows) ignore this penalty.
This briny smog impairs visibility to the same degree as fog at night (Exalted, pp. 135), and can only be pierced by fire-based light sources. Other light sources such as sunlight simply refract into oily rainbow halos, causing the smog to invalidate stealth as though it were an anima flaring at the 4-7 mote level. Visibility penalties apply to attacks made into the fog, as those within seem indistinct and shapeless. Additionally, the alien acidity of the smog tarnishes metal with a multicoloured patina and leaves indigo ice-rime on plants, adding the Infernal's (Essence) in bonus dice to any attempt to track her passage through an area she had this Charm active.
Demon Sea Shintai
Cost: 40m, 3lhl; Mins: Essence 5; Type: Simple
Keywords: Blasphemy, Form-Type, Obvious, Shaping, Sorcerous
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Lurking Indigo Haar, Great Mother's Blessed Waters, First Kimbery Excellency
Upon the outer layer of Malfeas, a tributary of the Great Mother lies exposed to the eyes of all. Sometimes this Creation-sized body of water moves, and where it passes it drowns entire domains, serfs and citizens alike dying in agony. Such is the whimsy of the Demon Sea. Upon activation of this Charm, the Infernal bursts - the terrible pressure of her ocean-blood tearing her flimsy human form apart. From this is born her true tsunami form, which rushes forth across the land with terrible fury.
The Infernal's flesh exists as a great surging body of indigo fluid, stained with bright colours, measuring a full mile in diameter. Her immense size makes attacks by smaller beings undodgeable (without Charms). However, she can't suffer more than one damage level per attack in step 10, unless the attack encompasses at least a tenth of her size. Similarly gargantuan beings ignore these modifiers.
Exposure to her flesh is an environmental hazard with the statistics of a vitriol bath. In addition, at each damage increment the victim is affected by a dose of Spiteful Sea Tincture poison, or any of the variants thereof that the Infernal knows. This affects inanimate terrain the Infernal passes over, so vast depressions are sunk into the land by her corrosive bulk. As a Shaping effect polluted water is called into existence to fill these recesses.
All bodies of liquid within a mile of where she passes are affected as by Great Mother's Blessed Waters, as a Sorcerous effect which lasts a month. If she is injured, then the duration on bodies of liquid in range at that point is Indefinite.
She can take whatever actions she normally could do anywhere within her body with her normal traits, paying 3m per action to physically interact with anything corporeal (social attacks cost nothing). Her waters freeze into icy renditions of her human form, carrying the now ice-encrusted equipment she had when she activated this Charm.
The warlock is immune to Poison, Crippling, and non-magical Sickness. She can't starve or suffocate.
She may move at her normal movement rate (Dashing and Jumping are impossible), and is immune to Blockade Movement actions.
She may communicate via Performance out to (Essence) miles, her terrifying choral voice the song of ten-thousand creatures of the ocean depths.
Targeting the centre of her being with appropriate countermagic (or Adamant Circle Banishing) terminates this Charm. Despite being Sorcerous, it can be voluntarily deactivated.
Instruction from Mother
Cost: 14m, 1lhl; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple (Dramatic Action)
Keywords: Obvious, Touch, Training, Desecration
Duration: One Week
Prerequisites: Intolerable Burning Truths
Through love and pain, Kimbery teaches her children the same lessons she learned before time began. This Charm involves training or instructing a group of non-reviled characters with Magnitude no greater than (Enlightenment/2), using methods compatible with the themes of the Great Mother. This Charm requires at least an hour of tuition per day. At the end of the teaching, the students gain one of the Intolerable Burning Truths known by the warlock as an Abomination, and the Creature of Darkness mutation.
If the student already knows one of the Intolerable Burning Truths, the warlock may instead train them in a Style she knows, increasing its rating by one. She may not increase others' traits past her own rating in the Style.
Hidden Family Secrets
Cost: - ; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Instructions from Mother
The Demon Sea whispers hidden secrets to her favoured children. Only the most loved receive such a blessing. This Charm upgrades its prerequisite and consists of four variants. When one of her students knows at least one Intolerable Burning Truth and has three dots in a Style, she may choose to teach them an Attribute or Ability which could be used with that Style. The Attributes and Abilities she can instruct them on depend on the variants she knows:
Whispers from the Deep - Cognition, Occult, Lore, Command, Subterfuge
Ways of the Water - Reaction, Travel, Bureaucracy, Survival, Athletics
Ocean's Rage - Physique, Endurance, Melee, Ranged, Awareness
Beauty Above All - Persuasion, Expression, Presence, Politics, Investigation
She cannot increase others' traits past her own, and may not raise character's traits past 4 dots with this Charm. When she purchases this Charm, she selects two variants to learn. Additional variants may be purchased for 5XP each.
Great Mother's Blessed Waters
Cost: 15m, 1lhl; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple (15 minute dramatic action)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Desecration, Sorcerous, Geomantic
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Tidal Renewal Discipline
Though Gaia may have included some water in her nature and been praised for her beauty, Kimbery has first claim upon the depths and rivers alike and will not let them go. This Charm allows a warlock to taint water, twisting anything which relies upon it. The Infernal sheds his blood, singing hymns to his own generosity. This is a fifteen minute dramatic action, and affects all bodies of water, including groundwater, within a radius of (Stamina x 100) yards around the Infernal. Over the course of the next day, the affected waters turn bitter and cold, flooding the affected area. The weather shifts, such that it rains frequently, even in the Deep South, and a residue of brightly coloured salts can be seen left on things affected by the tainted waters.
The waters of the Great Mother twist those who consume them. Any living being which gains the majority of their water in a given week from a tainted source rolls their (Stamina); failure means they gain a single Cosmetic mutation with an aquatic theme. Unintelligent creatures who get the majority of their food from mutated sources halve their Stamina for the purposes of this roll. Failures in later weeks mean they gain a 1-point mutation, up to a limit of (Infernal's Essence). Characters with at least one mutation from Kimberyian sources perceive the waters to be sweet and wholesome, and reduce the difficulty to find food within the water by their number of mutation points. Once water has been away from a tainted source for five days, or has been diluted down to being one-fifth tainted by volume, it no longer counts as coming from such a source.
Kimbery is generous and rewards those who pay her tribute through her presence. The Blessed Waters increase based on the value of the sacrifices made to Kimbery, the Infernal or any of their souls. At the end of each week, the radius increases by 25 yards for each dot of Resources sacrificed to it. The sum total of the sacrifices should be considered here - five Resources 1 sacrifices are not equivalent to a Resources 5 sacrifice. Ownership of the sacrificed objects passes to the Infernal.
Ocean Washed Words
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Sea
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Tidal Renewal Discipline
Kimbery's waves have touched many shores and countless tongues have screamed desperate prayers to her. Such knowledge lurks within her depths. The Infernal can activate this Charm after meditating for (8-Essence, minimum 1) hours while submerged, allowing her to develop a basic understanding of a language commonly spoken within a region. She can speak, write, understand and otherwise communicate in that language. She is clearly not a native, and speaks with a notable Old Realm accent - specifically the dialect of the ancient Lintha. The language slips from the cold darkness of her mind when she ends this effect – alternatively, she can instantly acquire it as a Linguistics specialty, as a Training effect.
When the Sea keyword applies, the warlock may communicate in all and any languages spoken within the region.
Surging Tidal Retreat
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive (Step 9)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Counterattack, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Intolerable Burning Truths
The Great Mother knows agony well. It was her companion in her earliest days, and it is her favoured tool now. No wonder she flows away from promised pain, letting her foes exhaust themselves before she comes crashing down upon their foolish heads. The warlock invokes this Charm against an attack. With flowing, inhuman grace she retreats away from the blow, moving up to ([Appearance + Athletics] x 4) yards away from them in any direction. The multiplier increases to x8 if her assailant is Reviled, or the attack uses fire or fire-aspected Essence. The Exalt chooses the direction and distance of her retreat, though it must be away from her attacker. This Charm is treated as a counterattack and so reduces the Infernal's DV by 1, cannot be used with another counterattack, and is resolved in step 9 of attack resolution.
Attention-Holding Grace
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple (Speed 4 in long ticks)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Compulsion, Emotion, Social
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Mother Sea Mastery
A creature of unquestionable poise and elegance, every flowing word and inhumanly beautiful gesture from the Great Mother draws the eye and ear away from lesser beings. The Infernal rolls her (Appearance + Performance). All targets who can perceive her with a Dodge MDV lower than the successes on this roll are affected by an unnatural mental influence which compels them to stay in her company. They are obliged to ignore any other character who has a lower Appearance than the Infernal, unless they are competing for her attention or both obeying a direct command from her. Resisting this Compulsion for up to five minutes costs one willpower, and once they have spent three willpower they are immune for a scene.
Passion-Driven Malestrom
Cost: - (+4m, 1wp); Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Compulsion, Emotion, Social
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Attention-Holding Grace
When one of the lesser forms of the Demon Sea takes human shape and walks among the hordes of Malfeas, flattering wars break out over her. This charm upgrades its prerequisite. By spending an additional four motes and one willpower when activating it, the warlock modifies the effects of Attention-Holding Grace. Characters under the effects of Attention-Holding Grace may now engage with other characters they perceive as rivals for the attention of the Infernal, if they are seeking to remove them as a threat.
If they have a positive Intimacy towards the Infernal, they treat it as a negative Intimacy towards any other character who competes for her affections. Additionally, if they already have an Intimacy of any kind towards the competitor, they treat it as a negative Intimacy. Characters affected by one of these modified Intimacies pay an extra willpower point to resist Attention-Holding Grace. If a character is under both of these effects the Intimacies stack and the cost is raised by two willpower, likely leading to bitter bloodshed.
Martyr's Open Endearment
Cost: 7m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 2)
Keywords: Obvious, Compulsion
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Attention-Holding Grace
Wrapped in a mantle of victimhood, the Great Mother seeps into the impulsive and lonely hearts of those who would oppose her, and makes them hers and hers alone. This Charm surrounds the Infernal in an exquisite wide-eyed aura of supernatural vulnerability which seeps into the minds of those empty-hearted souls who do not love others, or those with weak minds who are controlled by their lusts. This negates any physical or social attack made against her unless the attacker succeeds on a reflexive resistance roll. The Infernal chooses when purchasing this Charm whether a Compassion roll or a Temperance roll is the appropriate means of resistance. These rolls are difficulty 1, and need only succeed once per action, regardless of the number of attacks made. This is unnatural mental influence which costs 3 willpower to resist for a scene.
This Charm may be repurchased for half the cost. The attacker must now roll the lower of Compassion and Temperance to attack the Infernal.
Beauty-Over-Truth
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Illusion
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisites: Attention-Holding Grace
It wasn't his fault! They'd always hated him! It was self defence! Upon activating this Charm, the Infernal rolls (Appearance + Performance), adding a number of automatic successes equal to his Essence. Observers with a Dodge MDV less than the number of rolled successes automatically rationalise anything they see the Infernal doing as being provoked or otherwise justified, as an Illusion effect which automatically affects the character too. If he cuts down a man in the middle of the street, well - they were an assassin going for a weapon. If he takes a sweet delicacy from an infant, he was just doing it to protect the child's health. Resisting the Illusion for the remainder of the scene costs two willpower points, or one willpower point if the Infernal threatens or harms the character or their possessions. The Illusion does not prevent targets from defending themselves, although they do so reluctantly, sure that this is all a misunderstanding.
Even after the Charm has ended, witnesses accept the justifications their mind produces and do not attempt to correct their recollection without external prompting and a personally compelling reason. The human mind is all-too-fallible and creates further justifications, meshing their recollections into a web of rationalisations. They must spend four Willpower points to accept the spite of a world which would deny such a beautiful creature just cause.
Carmine Mantled Emissary
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Pantheon
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Beauty-Over-Truth
Within the dark hidden places of his body, the Infernal coats the accumulated malice and hate of a world which unfairly persecutes him in a protective scarlet nacre, birthing a nascent hungry soul. When he nudges this newborn into wakefulness, it grows strong on the wrongful cruelties of harsh reality. The Infernal's player rolls ([Manipulation or Appearance] + Socialise), adding a number of automatic successes equal to the Exalt's Essence. An almost imperceptible halo of crimson light briefly forms around her head, before fading into intangibility. The first time in any day another character attempts to remember any way which they have been wronged or offended by the Infernal, or anything which would negatively affect her judgement of the character, she must reflexively roll (Intelligence + Socialise) and achieve more successes than the Infernal. If she fails, she can only remember the positive - in her memories, she rationalises them as being someone else's fault, brushes them over, or simply fails to remember them. Characters who have a negative Intimacy towards the Infernal and channel Conviction on this roll add successes rather than dice.
Grotto-of-Sweet-Songs Shintai
Cost: 15m, 1lhl; Mins: Essence 4; Type: Simple (Speed 10, -2 DV)
Keywords: Combo-Basic, Form-type, Obvious, Sorcerous, Emotion, Compulsion, Shaping
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Martyr's Open Endearment, Carmine Mantled Emissary
Across Creation, there are tales of lost castles beside the sea where all things are graceful and the inhabitants are fair beyond belief and of hidden grottos where beautiful witches await the visits of heroes. These are but half-remembered tales of the palaces of the Great Mother, and they are beyond mortal comprehension, for she is castle and grotto and unfairly-trapped princess alike. Making such tales a reality, the warlock's flesh surges to anchor itself and resculpt a graceless Creation.
The lower trunk of the Infernal's body bloats into immensity, fusing with the ground before sheathing itself in pearlescent beauty which can be mistaken for geography. This extends in a radius of (Essence x 5) yards around her, and does not move after activation. She may move her protruding torso within this area, but cannot move her corpulent bulk without deactivating this Charm. Otherwise, she may carry out any action that can be formed without the aid of legs.
Over the next minute, the Infernal's influence extends in a vast wave across a surrounding area no more significant than a large palace or small forest. Her anima suffuses the area, turning all into wonder and aesthetic artistry. All objects and non-sapient animals brought into this area are affected by an active Shaping effect which transforms them so they are artistic masterpieces with a Resources value equal to the Infernal's Essence (while still retaining their previous functionality). This includes objects in use by characters - even the tattered rags of slaves who wander into the area become fine robes. Natives of Malfeas are Shaped into beauty, and treat their Appearance as being equal to the Infernal's Essence if it would be lower, save for interactions with the Infernal herself. The aesthetics the transformation takes are perfectly suited to the Infernal's tastes and preferences, cast through the lens of Kimbery. Reviled characters and their possessions are immune to the Shaping effect, for they are not worthy. When this Charm ends or the character or object is removed from the affected area, the transformation reverses itself over the course of a minute or so, though traces will remain in non-artefact objects.
Any character with an MDDV lower than the Infernal's Appearance + Socialise + Essence is affected by an Illusion which leads them to believe that everything which occurs within the area is perfectly normal and reasonable, which can be resisted by spending 3wp. Characters who resist this effect can see the hellish taint to the twisted aesthetics with a Difficulty 3 roll of (Perception + Occult).
Within the grotto of such a beautiful empress, all hearts are swayed towards protecting such a fragile thing. All characters within the affected area are under a Compulsion to answer any attacks or threats against the Infernal in kind. Social attacks which would build a negative Intimacy or attack a positive Intimacy compel the listener to attempt to do the same against the misguided soul, while threats of physical violence - or heaven forbid, actual violence - compel violence in turn. This unnatural Compulsion can be resisted for one willpower per provocative act, and once a character has spent three willpower resisting this effect, they are immune for five days. Natives of Malfeas are only rendered immune for one day.
Each scene spent within the affected area counts as a scene towards building an intimacy of 'Adoring Devotion' towards the Infernal. Each consumed item of food or drink affected by the Shaping effect counts as an additional scene. This unnatural Emotion effect can be resisted for one willpower, and once a character has spent three willpower resisting this effect, they are immune to it for five days. If a character has consumed (Willpower) items of food or drink and possesses this Intimacy, they receive the Creature of Darkness mutation as a Desecration effect and become a Native of Malfeas, and may count time spent in the affected area as training for their Appearance, up to a cap of the Infernal's Essence. This makes the changes to their features permanent.
Rapturous Leech Rupture
Cost: 2m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive (Step 10)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Great Mother's Tears
The sacred essence of the Great Mother is much too potent for the endless parasites who would seek to take advantage of her generosity. Their screams are some small penance. The Infernal invokes this charm whenever her attack would kill a character. Vitriolic essence surges into the target, dissolving and transmuting their mind, body and soul. They bloat and burst, spraying a pool of liquefied acidic viscera over the area. This creates an environmental hazard with a radius of (target's Essence x 2), lethal piercing damage of (target's Essence x 2), and trauma of (target's Essence), which screams with the voice of the deceased. Beloved characters are immune to this hazard, and cannot hear the moans. Fire can be used to dissipate the hazard, which burns away with a thick purple smoke if a single health level is done to it. It can also be drunk as if it was chalcanth, and provides (target's Essence) doses, though doing so inflicts a dose of the poison produced by Spiteful Sea Tincture to non-Beloved characters.
If a spirit is killed by an attack supplemented by this Charm, the death is permanent. Infernals with Essence 7+ can actually unravel the souls of beings with perfect reincarnation who normally resist permanent destruction, such as Dragon Kings and Jadeborn. Only Primordials, Neverborn and indestructible Exaltations are proof against the vengeance of Kimbery.
This Charm may be repurchased, so that this Charm's effects may be applied to damaging Kimberian poisons when they are created for no surcharge. This only takes effect if the poison kills the target.
Organ-Pulping Reprimand
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Crippling
Duration: One action
Prerequisites: Intolerable Burning Truths
No harbour wall or jade-steel breastplate can guard against the vengeance of the Demon Sea, and her foes' flesh is left liquified and bloody within their armoured shell. This Charm enhances a physical attack, adding one to its minimum damage, giving it the piercing tag, and ignoring Hardness. In addition, as a Crippling effect damage from an attack enhanced by this Charm causes bleeding and heals as it would for a mortal, organs bursting and rupturing even while the armour remains untouched.
Lurking Indigo Haar
Cost: 10m, 1lhl; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious, Sorcerous
Duration: One scene
Prerequisites: Sea-Within-Veins Prana
Toxic and cloying, the Great Mother seeps into dark places within the Demon City and spreads her rising waters until they drown entire districts of the Demon City. Such does she spread her love to places which have never known her touch. While this Charm is active, the warlock's sea-blood hisses and steams out of pores and tear ducts, creating a thick multi-coloured miasma around her with a radius of (Essence) yards. Characters within this Sorcerous zone of cloying mist are considered to be underwater (Exalted, pp. 155) and so suffer the usual -2 external penalty to most movement, the need to hold their breath, and so on. Ranged attacks made into the zone from the outside also suffer the penalty to "movement", as twirling tendrils of fog twitch them off-course. Fire-based attacks (such as flaming arrows) ignore this penalty.
This briny smog impairs visibility to the same degree as fog at night (Exalted, pp. 135), and can only be pierced by fire-based light sources. Other light sources such as sunlight simply refract into oily rainbow halos, causing the smog to invalidate stealth as though it were an anima flaring at the 4-7 mote level. Visibility penalties apply to attacks made into the fog, as those within seem indistinct and shapeless. Additionally, the alien acidity of the smog tarnishes metal with a multicoloured patina and leaves indigo ice-rime on plants, adding the Infernal's (Essence) in bonus dice to any attempt to track her passage through an area she had this Charm active.
Demon Sea Shintai
Cost: 40m, 3lhl; Mins: Essence 5; Type: Simple
Keywords: Blasphemy, Form-Type, Obvious, Shaping, Sorcerous
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisites: Lurking Indigo Haar, Great Mother's Blessed Waters, First Kimbery Excellency
Upon the outer layer of Malfeas, a tributary of the Great Mother lies exposed to the eyes of all. Sometimes this Creation-sized body of water moves, and where it passes it drowns entire domains, serfs and citizens alike dying in agony. Such is the whimsy of the Demon Sea. Upon activation of this Charm, the Infernal bursts - the terrible pressure of her ocean-blood tearing her flimsy human form apart. From this is born her true tsunami form, which rushes forth across the land with terrible fury.
The Infernal's flesh exists as a great surging body of indigo fluid, stained with bright colours, measuring a full mile in diameter. Her immense size makes attacks by smaller beings undodgeable (without Charms). However, she can't suffer more than one damage level per attack in step 10, unless the attack encompasses at least a tenth of her size. Similarly gargantuan beings ignore these modifiers.
Exposure to her flesh is an environmental hazard with the statistics of a vitriol bath. In addition, at each damage increment the victim is affected by a dose of Spiteful Sea Tincture poison, or any of the variants thereof that the Infernal knows. This affects inanimate terrain the Infernal passes over, so vast depressions are sunk into the land by her corrosive bulk. As a Shaping effect polluted water is called into existence to fill these recesses.
All bodies of liquid within a mile of where she passes are affected as by Great Mother's Blessed Waters, as a Sorcerous effect which lasts a month. If she is injured, then the duration on bodies of liquid in range at that point is Indefinite.
She can take whatever actions she normally could do anywhere within her body with her normal traits, paying 3m per action to physically interact with anything corporeal (social attacks cost nothing). Her waters freeze into icy renditions of her human form, carrying the now ice-encrusted equipment she had when she activated this Charm.
The warlock is immune to Poison, Crippling, and non-magical Sickness. She can't starve or suffocate.
She may move at her normal movement rate (Dashing and Jumping are impossible), and is immune to Blockade Movement actions.
She may communicate via Performance out to (Essence) miles, her terrifying choral voice the song of ten-thousand creatures of the ocean depths.
Targeting the centre of her being with appropriate countermagic (or Adamant Circle Banishing) terminates this Charm. Despite being Sorcerous, it can be voluntarily deactivated.
Instruction from Mother
Cost: 14m, 1lhl; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple (Dramatic Action)
Keywords: Obvious, Touch, Training, Desecration
Duration: One Week
Prerequisites: Intolerable Burning Truths
Through love and pain, Kimbery teaches her children the same lessons she learned before time began. This Charm involves training or instructing a group of non-reviled characters with Magnitude no greater than (Enlightenment/2), using methods compatible with the themes of the Great Mother. This Charm requires at least an hour of tuition per day. At the end of the teaching, the students gain one of the Intolerable Burning Truths known by the warlock as an Abomination, and the Creature of Darkness mutation.
If the student already knows one of the Intolerable Burning Truths, the warlock may instead train them in a Style she knows, increasing its rating by one. She may not increase others' traits past her own rating in the Style.
Hidden Family Secrets
Cost: - ; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: Instructions from Mother
The Demon Sea whispers hidden secrets to her favoured children. Only the most loved receive such a blessing. This Charm upgrades its prerequisite and consists of four variants. When one of her students knows at least one Intolerable Burning Truth and has three dots in a Style, she may choose to teach them an Attribute or Ability which could be used with that Style. The Attributes and Abilities she can instruct them on depend on the variants she knows:
Whispers from the Deep - Cognition, Occult, Lore, Command, Subterfuge
Ways of the Water - Reaction, Travel, Bureaucracy, Survival, Athletics
Ocean's Rage - Physique, Endurance, Melee, Ranged, Awareness
Beauty Above All - Persuasion, Expression, Presence, Politics, Investigation
She cannot increase others' traits past her own, and may not raise character's traits past 4 dots with this Charm. When she purchases this Charm, she selects two variants to learn. Additional variants may be purchased for 5XP each.
Also, you might have missed off The Infernal Id, which is a parallel to the Fourth Soul stuff but focussed on your po.
Thief of Words
Trans lesbian librarian
- Location
- Best book girl
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh, wow. Um, thanks for that!
I am aware of the Infernal Id. It's...around. Just not relevant to Taylor at the present point in time due to the nature of Earth-Bet residents' souls. I am not familiar with the Enlightenment Essence hack.