On the distinctions between two similar Charms with very different contexts:
All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight
All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight (Lore 5, Ess 2) is a Solar Charm, falling under Occult. It costs 6m to activate. If its successor charm Sorcerer's Burning Chakra Charm (Occult 5, Ess 4) is purchased, it is automatically activated at no cost whenever the Solar's anima banner is at the 4-7 mote level (shining or brighter). Once activated, it lasts for the remainder of the scene.
It has one prerequisite, Spirit-Detecting Glance (Occult 2, Ess 2), allowing the Solar to perceive dematerialized creatures; this is of dubious use in SMT. It is itself the prerequisite for no Charm other than SBCC.
Solar Charms in favored abilities cost 8 XP, and take [minimum required Ability score] days to learn.
Essence-Dissecting Stare
Essence-Dissecting Stare (Ess 2) is an Infernal Charm, belonging to the Charm tree of She Who Lived In Her Name (henceforth "SWLIHN"). It costs 6m to activate; this can be reduced by training Perception and Occult. (The formula is actually 8-[minimum of Perception or Occult].) Once activated, it lasts for one hour.
EDS has as a prerequisite the charm
Factual Determination Analysis (Ess 2), which allows one to detect whether a single statement is a lie (that is, whether the speaker believes it to be false), costing 3m to activate. It is itself the prerequisite for
Mind-Hand Manipulation (Ess 3), a telekinesis Charm with combat applicability which also serves as the gateway into SWILHN's crafting and pseudomagic trees.
Infernal charms only have Essence minima as prerequisites, not Attribute minima; as such we do not need to build up Craft to high levels before making use of Infernal crafting Charms. They can be learned without quick-learn slots, but do count as non-Solar Charms, costing 16 XP per charm and taking [minimum Essence]
weeks to learn. Additionally, whether quick-learn slots are used or not, Exa-kun will have to adapt the charm to Amu first; this is also not a quick process
(citation).
Finally, Infernal Charms are fluffed as being actual fragments of the Primordials/Yozi to which they belong. This might have an effect on Amu's personality... although Exa-kun can ascertain that before we actually take the Charms (and, presumably, prevent it while adapting them).
Both charms include the following abilities (couched in Exalted terms):
- All Charms are treated as Obvious to the user.
- Dematerialized and invisible creatures are considered visible.
- All artifacts, demesnes, and manses are immediately recognizable as such.
- Analysis of Essence-based effects can be done with an (Intelligence + Occult) roll.
- Analyzing the effects of an unknown Charm or spell is difficulty 5.
- Estimating the Essence rating of a person, place, or thing is difficulty 2.
- Mundane stealth or disguises are not automatically penetrated, but the user gets (target creature's Essence) bonus dice to their side of the opposed roll.
Based on Baughn's earlier comments, presumably most of these effects do carry over as though magatsuhi were Essence—perhaps not with full power or fidelity, but well enough to get work done. Baughn earlier noted that this Charm would be similar, but with somewhat different effects.
Notably:
She couldn't learn spells simply by watching them, without first grabbing Essence-Dissecting Stare or an equivalent. [...] That's not to say that EDS is an absolute requirement, but it'd fall under medium-length research rather than immediate comprehension.
