General Exalted Discussion IV: Roll Join Debate

[Mr.Bookworm]

I'd think a martial art emulating gods - even such insignificant ones as the Mice of the Sun - would be a CMA.

I've always though that the more specific you get, the lower you get. A martial art emulating an awesome squirrel you saw one time is a TMA, a CMA is emulating the very essence of squirrelness, and then a martial art wielding the concept of climbing with a squirrel theme is a SMA.

Could be wrong, though. At any rate, it's already written, so bah.

[Yuki Akuma]

Martial arts that emulate things tend to be CMAs. TMAs are all about just being an awesome martial artist. CMAs go into things like pretending to be a tiger.

[Mr.Bookworm]

Martial arts that emulate things tend to be CMAs. TMAs are all about just being an awesome martial artist. CMAs go into things like pretending to be a tiger.

Well, right. But then you have stuff like Terrible Ascent-Driven Beast style, which emulate a specific thing. Hmmmm. Trying to think of a good delineation, because I don't think the books give one.

[Yuki Akuma]

The basic definition: CMAs are philosophy first and beating people up second, and TMAs are the other way around.

TMAs are styles of fighting that happen to have philosophical components. CMAs are philosophies that happen to make you really good at punching things.

And SMAs are building off CMAs to turn your ability to punch well into screwing around with reality. Or something.

[Turalisj]

TMA is 95% physical, 5% metaphysical
CMA is about 75% physical, 25% metaphysical, give or take depending on the exact style.
SMA varies even more, but usually has more spiritual enlightenment involved than physical skill.

[Psyborg]

TMAs use a concept to understand how to punch you harder. A TMA is like a powered exoskeleton- it makes you harder/faster/better/stronger at fighting, but doesn't change the fundamental structure of combat, or even add any significantly new abilities to modify it.

The equivalent would be giving a modern soldier a custom-built, highly-tuned assault rifle with a stock and grips custom-fitted for him, firing hand-loaded match-grade ammunition. It makes you substantially stronger against things you're strong against, but it's still not going to hurt, say, an APC or up-armored humvee without a lot of luck or massed fire.

CMAs punch you with a concept. A CMA is like a new weapon that adds substantially different capabilities, altering the optimal tactics within the same basic combat paradigm.

The equivalent would be giving a modern soldier a laser rifle- it's line-of-sight range, has a perfectly flat trajectory, no meaningful transit time between firing and hitting, and (compared to a bullet) reacts completely differently to atmospheric conditions and various types of armor. Infantry tactics are going to be noticeably altered, but still be recognizable as infantry tactics.

SMAs punch concepts- generally other people's, but sometimes fundamental ones. An SMA completely alters the fundamental paradigm of conflict; you can't fight the same way at all with an SMA in the picture. For example, see the Quicksilver Hand of Dreams charm that lets you fight someone in their dreams and choose the attributes and abilities that the combat is based on.

The equivalent would be...I don't know...giving modern soldiers perfect ESP within a certain distance, and teleporting grenades? Telepathic attacks? Spontaneous UMI propaganda? Limits of physical abilities redefined to match your self-perceived degree of badassness? Shooting each other with words, and soldiers having shields that can perfectly block any word they specifically remember being shot at with, so combat-effectiveness is based on vocabulary size and memory? Five-dimensional combat environment, requiring truly mind-bending gymnastics to figure out how to move and fight it, plus one or more of the above? Things on that order.

Also, revised speedster, complying with mutation-stacking rules, will be up early next week, after finals finish. Probably Adorjani Akuma, though I'm not quite certain.

After that, I'm going to try to figure out the lowest-XP Eclipse Caste that could beat Chuck E. Cheese's record (in DnD 3.5e) of 1,059,008,683 ft/sec for a level-20 character. (Though he had a cohort doing a lot of the heavy-lifting for him.) Without Grace-Magic mote-battery shenanigans, teleportation, and arbitrarily high speeds (Glance and Stride and the various I-move-one-yard-faster-than-you powers), and using unlimited-stacking things (like, say, Skin-Mount Amulets?) a maximum of once. (Limited-stacking things are fair game up to their limits.) Probably going Akuma for access to Ascendancy Mantle of (Yozi) to allow him to do it at a younger age, and for more mote-efficient use of whichever Yozi's charms he'll need the most of. Should be interesting.

Huh. Are Excellencies Native? Wonder if he could pick up Lunar Dexterity Excellencies...anyhow. That's for later.

-Psy

[TheCountAlucard]

Huh. Are Excellencies Native?

No.

[Lochar]

But you are bound by that Excellencies requirements and dice caps.

No First Dex plus First Melee giving you double dex+Melee to something.

[vegetalss4]

But you are bound by that Excellencies requirements and dice caps.

No First Dex plus First Melee giving you double dex+Melee to something.

the reason for this is that the dice cap is inherent to the exalt types, and no combination of charms may surpass it unless the specifically state so, no matter where the carm originally is from.

[Indon]

But you are bound by that Excellencies requirements and dice caps.

But nothing stops combining First Melee plus Melee Auspicious, the Sidereal difficulty-lowering excellency, to my knowledge.

[vegetalss4]

But nothing stops combining First Melee plus Melee Auspicious, the Sidereal difficulty-lowering excellency, to my knowledge.

That is correct. It would however be rather expensive.

[Xefas]

So, I wrote a charm for one of Malfeas' more fundamental aspects over in this thread, but I'm not terribly happy with it - I know it needs a tweak, but I don't know what that tweak should be. If anyone would like to weigh in over there.

It makes me very uncomfortable when I write something and no one has told me its garbage.

[Lix Lorn]

It looks good IMO.

[Tavar]

What's the roll to remember a Sidereal?

[Yuki Akuma]

Wits + Integrity, difficulty 1 with a -3 internal penalty. If he makes (Sidereal's Essence) successful rolls, he doesn't need to roll again to remember the Siddie.

If he fails once, he forgets everything about the Siddie and can't try again unless someone else reminds him.

[a_humble_lich]

Or as the Sidereal Book suggests, everyone the ST wants to forget the Sidereal, so that she doesn't have to spend all of her time rolling for every NPC.

[Tavar]

Well, this is for myself, as a player, with regards to another player.

[Yuki Akuma]

Or as the Sidereal Book suggests, everyone the ST wants to forget the Sidereal, so that she doesn't have to spend all of her time rolling for every NPC.

He asked for the roll.

Why did you think this would be helpful?

[Tael]

After reading through Solar Hero Style again, I have come to notice something.

You can do truly ridiculous amounts of damage with Crashing Wave Throw.
Is there something I'm missing here? Or is the ability to do 60 dice of bashing damage not actually crazy overpowered?

[Yuki Akuma]

It's not actually crazy overpowered.

Beyond a certain point, attacks just become "perfect or die" anyway. Remember, fifteen health levels is considered impressive.

[Tael]

It's not actually crazy overpowered.

Beyond a certain point, attacks just become "perfect or die" anyway. Remember, fifteen health levels is considered impressive.

I hadn't realized that that point was essence 3.

Also, we're using the "Free Ox-Bodys = Stamina" house rule if that matters.

What else can deal that kind of damage at essence 3 with similar expenditure?

[Sanguine]

You're forgetting Terminal Velocity. Caps out at 25 Bashing. Also even if Terminal Velocity doesn't apply here it's Martial Artx10 yards that's 50 max at Essence 3 not 60.

[TheCountAlucard]

I hadn't realized that that point was essence 3.

Yep. Offensive Charms are ridiculously-lethal. After all, it seems that somewhere between half and three-quarters of said Charms were designed with the idea of, "Who cares how much damage it does, they can perfect anyway" in mind.

What else can deal that kind of damage at essence 3 with similar expenditure?

Well, I'm sure meschlum can whip out a starting Fair Folk with an arbitrary amount of damage it can deal, but before he does that, I'll posit that a Lunar character specialized in dealing damage can probably get about that high at chargen, as can a Solar Melee guy.

[Xefas]

Well, I'm sure meschlum can whip out a starting Fair Folk with an arbitrary amount of damage it can deal, but before he does that, I'll posit that a Lunar character specialized in dealing damage can probably get about that high at chargen, as can a Solar Melee guy.

Not to mention that Crashing Wave Throw is, what, 6 charms down? For 3 motes? I bet a Solar Melee Guy can get a hypothetical target just as dead or deader for less resources spent.

[Turalisj]

Anyone interested in playing/running a pure stealth game?

[Yuki Akuma]

A "pure stealth game" wouldn't be that much fun in Exalted, what with all the cheap, easy ways to become perfectly undetectable.

Unless you do a mortals game.

[Tael]

You're forgetting Terminal Velocity. Caps out at 25 Bashing. Also even if Terminal Velocity doesn't apply here it's Martial Artx10 yards that's 50 max at Essence 3 not 60.

Errata changes it to MAx14. And I don't believe TV counts, as it specifically makes mention of possible falling damage, but only when throwing up or over a cliff/edge.

Yep. Offensive Charms are ridiculously-lethal. After all, it seems that somewhere between half and three-quarters of said Charms were designed with the idea of, "Who cares how much damage it does, they can perfect anyway" in mind.

Well, I'm sure meschlum can whip out a starting Fair Folk with an arbitrary amount of damage it can deal, but before he does that, I'll posit that a Lunar character specialized in dealing damage can probably get about that high at chargen, as can a Solar Melee guy.

Being relatively new here however, I really don't know about any of these melee/Lunar combos. Care to expand?

Not to mention that Crashing Wave Throw is, what, 6 charms down? For 3 motes? I bet a Solar Melee Guy can get a hypothetical target just as dead or deader for less resources spent.

Same with Alucard. Can you give any examples? Also only 2 motes if you're a Solar.

[Lord Raziere]

I just had a thought:

Pros and Cons of the Primordial War
From the Perspective of the Celestial Incarnae

Pros:

Get to play Games of Divinity

Exalted run things for us

Cons:

90% of creation wiped out

Unnatural Underworld formed

Various Forbidden Gods and such still lurking around

The super-powerful architect rulers we usurped are now driven insane and want revenge

No idea how this Exalted running things will turn out

Creation is more vulnerable to the Wyld now.

.....and I'm wondering if in retrospect, if it was really that good of an idea to start that war.....

[Turalisj]

More Pros: Don't have to deal with those blasted Creators whipping us, Not being used as simply a foil for their destructive ways, Get to play the Games of Divinity

[Sanguine]

Errata changes it to MAx14. And I don't believe TV counts, as it specifically makes mention of possible falling damage, but only when throwing up or over a cliff/edge.

Yeah I probably should of checked Errata. That would in fact be 70 Bashing then not 60. Though really unless your a Lunar or Infernal once we get to these points it doesn't really matter, it's perfect or die. Though they do actually have to be thrown into something exactly that many yards away. If they are just thrown and don't hit anything they don't take any damage at all.