General Exalted Discussion IV: Roll Join Debate

[Urpriest]

Simple Charms are Speed 6 unless otherwise noted. Exalted pg 182. They also default to a -1 DV Penalty.

Edit: As for Mass Combat, yeah I don't know what the problem with that is. And Alchemicals are most definitely not organic.

Ah, I'd missed that rule. And that would be Speed 6 is normal ticks, correct? So in Social Combat that would be less than a single long tick?

Edit: Alucard, thanks for the review. Amusingly enough, those are exactly the traits I would want out of "Who the Hell Do You Think We Are?!" Ululation (Ululation is a good Charm noun, no?). Army-as-pants might not work for a simulation/abstraction, but it feels right for Kamina and Simon.

[TheCountAlucard]

Ah, I'd missed that rule. And that would be Speed 6 is normal ticks, correct?

It'd be 6 ticks of whatever set it's made to operate for. If you're operating in normal combat, it's normal ticks; if you're operating in Social combat, it's long ticks.

[Urpriest]

It'd be 6 ticks of whatever set it's made to operate for. If you're operating in normal combat, it's normal ticks; if you're operating in Social combat, it's long ticks.

Just to clarify, do you mean which rules the Charm itself was designed to work for, or which set it's being used for at the time? So does the fact that the Charm has social combat related effects mean it's automatically on social combat speed, or does it take on the speed of whichever type of combat the Exalt activating the Charm happens to be engaged in?

[TheCountAlucard]

Just to clarify, do you mean which rules the Charm itself was designed to work for, or which set it's being used for at the time? So does the fact that the Charm has social combat related effects mean it's automatically on social combat speed, or does it take on the speed of whichever type of combat the Exalt activating the Charm happens to be engaged in?

Blargh, sorry, was kinda distracted when posting that. Yeah, to clarify, if you're using a purely Social Charm, it's automatically in Social combat speed. Likewise the same with Charms with the War tag. On the other hand, Charms with the Social tag still don't suddenly force things to start working on the Social time scale. Majestic Radiant Presence, for instance, even though it has the Social tag, can be activated in response to a physical attack. Elusive Dream Defense, even though it's a Social Charm, can be activated in response to mental influence occurring during normal combat.

[Turalisj]

See, this is what causes people like those in my RL group to dislike Exalted. The combat system (mass, physical, and social) is a complete mess.

[Xefas]

So, the Yozi don't have any dots in Lore. Does that mean that Malfeas can only read to the max!, the Ebon Dragon can only read like a douchebag, and so on?

That's great.

[TheCountAlucard]

That's great.

That is brilliant.

A little more seriously, I'd interpret it to mean that they don't really need to read; they simply intrinsically understand something to the best ability of their theme. It aids the idea of them not comprehending anything that's out of their paradigm.

[Xefas]

That is brilliant.

To reflect the newfound illiteracy of the Yozi, I've made a new charm.

By Illiteracy, Enlightened

Spoiler

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By Illiteracy, Enlightened
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

Malfeas has no dots in Lore. He cannot read. But he does not need to.

This charm supplements any action by the Infernal involving him slamming his head against something containing characters that have some linguistic significance, such as a book or a stone tablet. The Essence released allows the meaning of the words to be jolted from the impact, through the Infernal's skull, and into his brain. Instantly, he knows and understands what was written within the struck item to the extent that he would have had he read it. This bypasses all language barriers in the process.

Due to the speed at which he imbibes information, the Infernal may reduce his training times for learning anything to a scant few minutes, so long as he's learning them from written material.

If a Linguistics Charm or similar effect is present, but reliant on the Infernal reading the text, it does not activate, as he has not actually done any reading.

[Cyborg Mage]

Sounds like Mask of Winters could get a little club going at this rate... I know he got errata'd. Don't care.

[SurlySeraph]

You know, I've always liked Malfeas, and I think that Charm is going to make me finally buy MoEP: Infernals.

I'm thinking of making a gentleman thief. When he failed at doing something awesome, there were no Fiend Caste or Scourge Caste exaltations available. Just a Slayer Caste exaltation. He now uses YOU GO BLIND! for stealth and ETIQUETTE IS DOING WHAT I SAY! to pull off genteel but extremely loud heists, which he gets away with mainly because everyone's too scared and/or charmed and/or stabbed in the voicebox to turn him in. Ebon Dragon as Favored Yozi, of course.

Also, make more of those. Make one for every canon Yozi, even Elloge. Especially Elloge!

Amusingly enough, those are exactly the traits I would want out of "Who the Hell Do You Think We Are?!" Ululation (Ululation is a good Charm noun, no?). Army-as-pants might not work for a simulation/abstraction, but it feels right for Kamina and Simon.

The name could be a bit shorter and less obvious. Perceived-Identity-Demanding Ululation? Or just Perceived Identity Demand?

[TheCountAlucard]

I'm thinking of making a gentleman thief. When he failed at doing something awesome, there were no Fiend Caste or Scourge Caste exaltations available. Just a Slayer Caste exaltation.

This is gonna be interesting.

He now uses YOU GO BLIND! for stealth...

That Charm's in Broken-Winged Crane, "Tarnish Flash Technique."

...and ETIQUETTE IS DOING WHAT I SAY!

That one's also easy, right out of the Infernals book. It's called "Crowned With Fury."

...to pull off genteel but extremely loud heists, which he gets away with mainly because everyone's too scared and/or charmed and/or stabbed in the voicebox to turn him in.

Sounds good...

[Xefas]

That got me thinking on some of the less used abilities in the Yozi charmsets. So, here's a Malfeas Stealth and Sail charm.

Spoiler

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Subtle Like Nuclear Holocaust
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Crowned With Fury

Malfeas does not hide. Rather, others turn from his magnificence, lest they be consumed. It is in their justified terror that he moves, ostensibly unnoticed.

As part of activating this charm, the Infernal must shout "Ignore Me!". As he does so, his skin ignites with a brilliant green bonfire, shining radiance outward for all to see. Every few seconds, the Infernal must continue to shout "Ignore Me!" as loud as possible. Failing to do so for too long will end the charm prematurely, as the foolish lemmings of the world will become lost without the undeniable decree of their king.

While this charm is active, the Infernal ignores all penalties to attempts at acting stealthy, including ones inflicted by bright light, loud noises, or people looking directly at you. His stealth attempts do not automatically fail for stupid reasons like "Being on an empty stage in front of ten thousand people with a spot light on you.", and any such stealthiness is automatically a viable target for the First Malfeas Excellency.

I'm On A Boat
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Crowned With Fury

Sometimes Malfeas is on a boat. It would seem that, banished from the world, laid low, wrongfully imprisoned and mutilated, that the sea, and the rocks, and the ships have forgotten his dominion over them. They would attempt to keep him from being on a boat. But so long as there is a drop of Essence left in Malfeas, the Devil Tyrant will not concede. He is, in fact, on a boat, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Whenever some event would inflict a penalty on the continued operation of a sailing vessel that the Infernal is currently on, they may activate this charm to make the penalty inapplicable so long as he remains upon the vessel in question. In doing so, he must shout at the source of the penalty, some kind of proclamation of his spacial existence upon the boat.

For example, were an iceberg to tear a hole into the side of the Infernal's vessel, he could shout "I'm on this boat, ************!" at the iceberg, and while the boat would still bear a crippling hole on its side, it would not impair the function of the boat so long as the Infernal remained upon it. It would remain buoyant, and maneuver correctly, and so forth.

It is possible for an Infernal to dock a perfectly operational ship, now composed entirely of a half dozen splintered planks and a scrap of torn cloth, held together only by his spite and stubbornness, only to step off of it, and have its remains collapse into nothing.

A second purchase at Essence 4+ allows the Infernal to convince everyone and everything around him that he is on a boat, even if he isn't. This adds an 8 mote surcharge onto the regular cost of this charm, and requires that they be committed. So long as they remain so, the Infernal is, for all intents and purposes, sailing on a Large Yacht (see the Scroll of Kings). He may even store cargo in this mostly fictional vessel, and bring others with him, as his authority convinces them that they too are also on the boat that the Infernal is clearly on as well.

I'm willing to concede that the latter charm may be one that a Green Sun Prince added to Malfeas, rather than one purely native to him. I doubt he'd mind, though.

EDIT: Added a second purchase.

[Cyborg Mage]

That is plain hilarious. I wonder if there would be an Abyssal version...

"Nothing to see here, just a routine disemboweling. Move along.

[Rockphed]

That got me thinking on some of the less used abilities in the Yozi charmsets. So, here's a Malfeas Stealth and Sail charm.

Spoiler

Show

Subtle Like Nuclear Holocaust
Cost: 3m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisite Charms: Crowned With Fury

Malfeas does not hide. Rather, others turn from his magnificence, lest they be consumed. It is in their justified terror that he moves, ostensibly unnoticed.

As part of activating this charm, the Infernal must shout "Ignore Me!". As he does so, his skin ignites with a brilliant green bonfire, shining radiance outward for all to see. Every few seconds, the Infernal must continue to shout "Ignore Me!" as loud as possible. Failing to do so for too long will end the charm prematurely, as the foolish lemmings of the world will become lost without the undeniable decree of their king.

While this charm is active, the Infernal ignores all penalties to attempts at acting stealthy, including ones inflicted by bright light, loud noises, or people looking directly at you. His stealth attempts do not automatically fail for stupid reasons like "Being on an empty stage in front of ten thousand people with a spot light on you.", and any such stealthiness is automatically a viable target for the First Malfeas Excellency.

I'm On A Boat
Cost: 1m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Crowned With Fury

Sometimes Malfeas is on a boat. It would seem that, banished from the world, laid low, wrongfully imprisoned and mutilated, that the sea, and the rocks, and the ships have forgotten his dominion over them. They would attempt to keep him from being on a boat. But so long as there is a drop of Essence left in Malfeas, the Devil Tyrant will not concede. He is, in fact, on a boat, and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Whenever some event would inflict a penalty on the continued operation of a sailing vessel that the Infernal is currently on, they may activate this charm to make the penalty inapplicable so long as he remains upon the vessel in question. In doing so, he must shout at the source of the penalty, some kind of proclamation of his spacial existence upon the boat.

For example, were an iceberg to tear a hole into the side of the Infernal's vessel, he could shout "I'm on this boat, ************!" at the iceberg, and while the boat would still bear a crippling hole on its side, it would not impair the function of the boat so long as the Infernal remained upon it. It would remain buoyant, and maneuver correctly, and so forth.

It is possible for an Infernal to dock a perfectly operational ship, now composed entirely of a half dozen splintered planks and a scrap of torn cloth, held together only by his spite and stubbornness, only to step off of it, and have its remains collapse into nothing.

A second purchase at Essence 4+ allows the Infernal to convince everyone and everything around him that he is on a boat, even if he isn't. This adds an 8 mote surcharge onto the regular cost of this charm, and requires that they be committed. So long as they remain so, the Infernal is, for all intents and purposes, sailing on a Large Yacht (see the Scroll of Kings). He may even store cargo in this mostly fictional vessel, and bring others with him, as his authority convinces them that they too are also on the boat that the Infernal is clearly on as well.

I'm willing to concede that the latter charm may be one that a Green Sun Prince added to Malfeas, rather than one purely native to him. I doubt he'd mind, though.

EDIT: Added a second purchase.

If I die laughing, you get to tell my fiance that you killed me with laughter. What is "I'm on a boat" a reference to? If it is a reference to that old spice commercial, then you should also make "i'm on a horse" which would have similar effects, just for a creature being ridden.

[Tavar]

I'm on a boat!

[a_humble_lich]

In my RL game, I thing the party spent the entire trip from Harborhead to Nexus in our swim trunks and flippy-floppies.

[Delusion]

Have to make new replacement char for exalted game that starts in 30 minutes, and Xefas now nearly convinced me to go Malfean infernal isntead of Solar

Those charms are pure win.

[Urpriest]

Blargh, sorry, was kinda distracted when posting that. Yeah, to clarify, if you're using a purely Social Charm, it's automatically in Social combat speed. Likewise the same with Charms with the War tag. On the other hand, Charms with the Social tag still don't suddenly force things to start working on the Social time scale. Majestic Radiant Presence, for instance, even though it has the Social tag, can be activated in response to a physical attack. Elusive Dream Defense, even though it's a Social Charm, can be activated in response to mental influence occurring during normal combat.

Perfect Symmetry lacks the Social tag, though. It just modifies the effect of Appearance on MDVs. Does that change any of what you've said?

The name could be a bit shorter and less obvious. Perceived-Identity-Demanding Ululation? Or just Perceived Identity Demand?

Hmm...I agree that those sorts of things capture the situation better. Neither of those would work, since the Charm would have to be distinguished from the "Who The Hell Do You Think I Am?" Charm, which would be its prerequisite. Actually, either of those names could work for that one. Maybe "Who The Hell Do You Think We Are?" could be Nakama-Identifying Insistence or something.

Edit: I missed a very important and necessary part of the Charm name. The Charms need to be:

Malfeas-Referencing Identity Demand
Malfeas-Referencing Nakama Ululation

[Psyborg]

It is possible for an Infernal to dock a perfectly operational ship, now composed entirely of a half dozen splintered planks and a scrap of torn cloth, held together only by his spite and stubbornness, only to step off of it, and have its remains collapse into nothing.

So Jack SparrowCaptain Jack Sparrow is a Malfean infernal?

[Postmodernist]

So Jack SparrowCaptain Jack Sparrow is a Malfean infernal?

Rum-aspected terrestrial.

[Turalisj]

I wonder....

Would anyone be interested in statting up the Zerg for Exalted? I figured they'd be great enemies for my Dragon-Blood game

[Cyborg Mage]

... Woah. Wierd coincidence. I was thinking of finding a few guys to work with and basically making Starcraft- The RPG. Even wierder, I was thinking a modified Exalted/Storytelling system. May not work, but still.

[SurlySeraph]

@Urpriest: Or Qaf-Referencing. But yes, that's better than my suggestion.

@Xefas: That is so perfect, and it's nice to have a formalized "IGNORE ME!" charm. And it's nice to see non-Kimbery Sail. Adorjan Sail is pretty easy. Ebby Sail would be "Nobody is on a boat!" SWLiHN Sail would probably involve compulsively re-checking star charts. I guess Cecelyne sail would involve sandboats, silver beaches, or locustfish.

That is plain hilarious. I wonder if there would be an Abyssal version...

"Nothing to see here, just a routine disemboweling. Move along.

Atrocity without Witness, in MoEP: Abyssals. It forces people to ignore the fact that you're killing people.
And now I'm thinking of an Abyssa striding through a cocktail party and making polite conversation while garotting everybody who doesn't seem taken with him. (Strangling, not stabbing; can't get blood on his tuxedo). Seems like a perfectly good concept for a Moonshadow.

[Turalisj]

Mainly, I'm looking at trying to create some of the iconic creatures of the Zerg:
- Zerglings
- Hydralisks
- Ultralisks
- Lurkers

Maybe even add Banelings and Changelings.

[TheCountAlucard]

Have to make new replacement char for exalted game that starts in 30 minutes, and Xefas now nearly convinced me to go Malfean infernal isntead of Solar

Hope the game is going well for you.

Those charms are pure win.

A tad silly for my tastes, but whatever floats your boat (clearly, in this case, Charms )

Perfect Symmetry lacks the Social tag, though.

One thing you've got to remember about Exalted: just because the rules work a certain way doesn't mean another writer remembered that while writing Charms.

It just modifies the effect of Appearance on MDVs. Does that change any of what you've said?

It doesn't; however, that certainly is weird...

So Jack SparrowCaptain Jack Sparrow is a Malfean infernal?

Rum-aspected terrestrial.

Nah, he's clearly an Eclipse Caste. Has Sail and Socialize as Caste Abilities, after all, and let's not forget that he's used a Sidereal Charm before (Avoiding-the-Truth Technique, anyone? ).

That is so perfect, and it's nice to have a formalized "IGNORE ME!" charm.

Well, you could already use Crowned With Fury to UMI people to ignore you; as-is, the Charm's kind of a little wobbly, truth be told.

And it's nice to see non-Kimbery Sail.

I just wish it wasn't on a joke Charm. However, since most of the rest of you don't care, I posit that an expansion Charm be made that allows Malfeas to sail said boat straight to the Silver Chair, should he desire.

Mainly, I'm looking at trying to create some of the iconic creatures of the Zerg:
- Zerglings
- Hydralisks
- Ultralisks
- Lurkers

Maybe even add Banelings and Changelings.

Almost certainly doable; I bet meschlum will have a Fair Folk-related solution.

[Drascin]

I guess Cecelyne sail would involve sandboats, silver beaches, or locustfish.

I'd have thought sea parting - drying a road of sand on the bottom so that you may walk through the desolation unimpeded, because water is for ******* .

[Kylarra]

You probably don't even need fair folk. Just take some normal critters and tag on wyld mutations.


not that I'm not waiting to see what m posts as well.

[TheCountAlucard]

I'd have thought sea parting - drying a road of sand on the bottom so that you may walk through the desolation unimpeded, because water is for ******* .

Problem is, there's a spell for that, and the Cecelyne version would probably do exactly that.

[Turalisj]

Anyone have a list of athletics charms with the Dawn keyword? Posting from phone right now and don't have latest errata on here.

[Psyborg]

Rum-aspected terrestrial.

Better yet: he went Devil-Tiger, defined "rum" as one of the elements (or possibly the element, a la Malfeas & vitriol) of his soul-world, and used a modified version of The Song of the Shadow that allowed his Akuma to breed Rum-aspected Terrestrials.

(Okay, so it doesn't really coordinate with anything in any of the movies...but it'd be awesome. The iconic Scourge, that pirate dude, needs to do something like this.)

Also, I'm On A Boat needs heretical expansion charms:

Spoiler

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Adorjan: "I'm On An Airboat" Extends "boat" to include aircraft; allows air vehicle speed to count toward the "Velocity" keyword's requirements. (A follow-on charm allows extending certain Velocity-keyworded charms' effects to cover the entire vehicle.)

Autocthon: "I'm On A SuperMagiSteamEssenceQuantaPolyAetherBoat" Extends I'm On A Boat to include consequences of lack of required maintenance for magitech vessels, up to but not including complete failure. A repurchase removes this limitation. An alchemical submodule, "I'm On My SuperMagiSteamEssenceQuantaPolyAetherBoat", halves the cost of I'm On A Boat when applied to a vessel of your own construction.

Cecelyne: "We're On A Boat" Extends "boat" to include landships, sand-schooners, etc. Allows you to affect not only your boat, but also the boats that your cultists are on, as long as they're sailing in a fleet headed by your boat.

Ebon Dragon: "You Think You're On A Boat" Extends the duration of I'm On A Boat; after you leave it, it will remain functional until the first time that it's either A) out of sight of shore in good weather or B) more than a mile from shore in a storm. At that point, the charm ends and the damage has its normal effects, usually with deleterious consequences for those aboard. (The Ebon Dragon never misses an opportunity to screw someone.)

If the last boat the You Think You're On A Boat was applied to has not yet disintegrated, and the Infernal tries to use it on a boat he's currently on, the charm is only guaranteed to last (Essence)+1d10 minutes, after which it will fail as soon as either of the conditions above is met, usually with deleterious consequences for the Infernal. (And if screwing someone else fails, he'll screw himself.)

Kimbery: "I'm In Jonah's Boat" Extends "boat" to include sea monsters that swallow you.

SWLiHN: "Repetitious Redundance Deletion Method" Having declared that you are, in fact, on a boat to one iceberg, you need not repeat yourself to any future icebergs. Likewise for other dangers and damages. Allows you to commit essence to make the boat's continued functionality Indefinite, no longer dependent on your presence on it (or, perhaps, Indefinite Until Calibration?); a repurchase adds the Sorcerous keyword and removes the need for commitment of essence.

Also, @Cyborg Mage: Granted, Exalted is a great game. It is, however, a great game in spite of its system, rather than because of. Why, oh why would you use the Exalted system for anything you didn't absolutely have to?

Edit:

You probably don't even need fair folk. Just take some normal critters and tag on wyld mutations.


not that I'm not waiting to see what m posts as well.

The tricky part is modeling Creep, and creatures-become-structures. While Alchemical Exalted can do the latter after a fashion, it's a safe bet that they're an entirely inappropriate way to model Zerg in general.

I, too, am looking forward to m's submission