General Exalted Discussion III: Weddings Are An Act of Villainy

[TheCountAlucard]

But... why?! Why not leave the ***** there?!

Because as crazy as Raksi is, we're better off with her doing her thing, being an insane Essence 8 baby-eater than her doing her thing, being an Essence 8 akuma.

Plus, in her absence, we kinda totally re-vamped her place...

[Tavar]

Plus, part of that seems to stem from a couple centuries in the wyld, getting derangements and the like.

Oh, and, there would be other repercussions. Helping Raksi in this manner would almost certainly end up gaining them a favorable impression with the Silver Pact, which is always nice.

[TheCountAlucard]

Plus, part of that seems to stem from a couple centuries in the wyld, getting derangements and the like.

Yeah, not exactly her fault about the baby-eating - it's literally a dietary restriction the Wyld mutations forced on her.

The fact that she enjoys it, on the other hand, is another matter entirely, and is probably tied in with the assortment of other derangements she has.

Oh, and, there would be other repercussions. Helping Raksi in this manner would almost certainly end up gaining them a favorable impression with the Silver Pact, which is always nice.

Exactly; heck, the reason four Lunars were there to carry the palanquin was because we'd tried to engage in diplomacy with faux-Raksi when we first arrived, at which point a few choice members of the Silver Pact showed up to see what was going on/help hammer out terms favorably.

[The_Snark]

Yeah, not exactly her fault about the baby-eating - it's literally a dietary restriction the Wyld mutations forced on her.

Actually, she's only restricted to raw flesh. She just happens to prefer live babies, which is the fault of those high-strength derangements you mentioned. Cannibalism, Megalomania, Obsession (cruelty)...

Raksi is one of those strange cases where, although loathsome, you can kind of feel sorry for her. The Hallucination derangement she's been saddled with is truly nasty.

[SurlySeraph]

Does anyone else have any sort of odd preconceptions about the setting? For example, I keep thinking that every Sidereal (sans Chejop) are all women. I don't know why, but I blame the Maidens and Sad Ivory.

All No Moon Lunars have beards. Even Raksi.
Leviathan's beard makes him less hydrodynamic, but when there's a giant killer whale with a beard coming for you you know you're screwed.

About 1/3 of all Abyssals are Day Caste renegades.

There's some Eclipse or Moonshadow idiot somewhere who decided to learn Neverborn Charms. He is currently trapped somewhere, trying to figure out how he can un-learn Immobile Tomb Body and Oh God The Hurting Never Stops Technique, or at least learn the charms they're prerequisites for so he can summon some Nephwracks to pull him around.

Many Sidereals have SMA charms that let them punch people's memory out, punch people into falling in love, punch people so hard that they turn into ducks, and punch people so hard that they turn into ducks that have always been ducks, causing everything that person has ever done to retroactively have been done by a duck.

There are Lunar infiltrators in Malfeas, the Underworld, and Yu-Shan, and they're a significant part of why the Reclamation didn't happen earlier, the Deathlords can't get anything done, and the Sidereals can't find all the Solars.

Solars get high-Essence charms that give them benefits for having high Limit.

Every time the UCS leaves the Jade Pleasure Dome, he's immediately surrounded by people challenging him to random contests. He takes this in fairly good humor, and stomps them all. He especially enjoys winning challenges people proposed because they were sure he wouldn't accept them, such as wet T-shirt contests, bake-offs, and "Who can look more sad and pathetic?" contests.

So, you know that one Dawn Caste who marched into the Demon City to engage in eternal battle with the residents of Hell?

We decided my character would impersonate him last night. So we had this massive palanquin upon which my character victoriously posed, carried on the backs of four Lunars in their warforms, heralded by our Zenith caste and an Eclipse caste who declare my presence in the Demon City, and at the tail of the procession, the Twilight caste in our group in a royal warstrider, the warstrider itself producing glorious music of exultation to the returning general.

And the entire cavalcade walked on nothing but lotus petals.

Glorious. The lotus petals are an exquisite touch.

[Lochar]

Sadly, a Solar can't come along and punch off those mutations, as they're protected by her own tattoos, aren't they?

Hell, that'd make a good goal for a lunar circle, or her solar mate. Figure out a way to remove permanent mutations on tattooed Lunars.

[Yuki Akuma]

Alucard, you have the best Exalted games.

I am jealous.

[TheCountAlucard]

Sadly, a Solar can't come along and punch off those mutations, as they're protected by her own tattoos, aren't they?

Exactly. In fact, our Twilight had just learned Science of Mutation, and was disappointed to find this out. On the other hand, he can still rip out Gremlin Syndrome.

Alucard, you have the best Exalted games.

I am jealous.

Well, that was the highlight of the session; we also had a two-hour argument over the minutae of Black Mirror Shintai, but I figured out of the two, I'd rather discuss the more fun thing.

[Tavar]

Sadly, a Solar can't come along and punch off those mutations, as they're protected by her own tattoos, aren't they?

Hell, that'd make a good goal for a lunar circle, or her solar mate. Figure out a way to remove permanent mutations on tattooed Lunars.

Hastening Night's End, from the Scroll of Errata would work for mental mutations and the like. Would require a significant amount of social combat to make the person want to be healed, though.

Raksi is one of those strange cases where, although loathsome, you can kind of feel sorry for her. The Hallucination derangement she's been saddled with is truly nasty.

Is she statted somewhere? In any case, what's so bad about her hallucination derangement?

[Yuki Akuma]

Many Sidereals have SMA charms that let them punch people's memory out, punch people into falling in love, punch people so hard that they turn into ducks, and punch people so hard that they turn into ducks that have always been ducks, causing everything that person has ever done to retroactively have been done by a duck.

This is actually true though.

[TheCountAlucard]

Hastening Night's End, from the Scroll of Errata would work for mental mutations and the like. Would require a significant amount of social combat to make the person want to be healed, though.

Hastening Night's End sounds like a great solution, but... wait, a Presence Charm with a Performance-based prerequisite?

I'll show it to my ST, but I'm going to ask that the prerequisite be changed.

Is she statted somewhere?

Compass: East.

In any case, what's so bad about her hallucination derangement?

Spoiler

Show

She frequently sees herself being laughed at by man and monkey alike... but when she's alone, her father comes and beats her for being such a stupid child.

[Tavar]

It's also a medicine charm. Requires Flawless Diagnosis Technique and Touch of Blissful Release.

[TheCountAlucard]

It's also a medicine charm. Requires Flawless Diagnosis Technique and Touch of Blissful Release.

Eh, but I don't feel like picking up Medicine. I already have Presence 4 and You Can Be More, though, and it'd help me cure my Lunar mate's insanity (and also Raksi's, but that's more of a side benefit).

[Xefas]

Would using a social attack to convince a God to act in accordance with its intended purpose be considered "harmful"? Like, convincing a City God to defend its city, or convincing the God of War to start a War, or something like that? Assuming that it would not be immediately threatening (I don't mean like "Hey, go defend your City by jumping in front of those Abyssals!").

[Lochar]

No, and it should actually gain the benefit of a social attack against their motivation, getting the -3 MDV on the God.

Because if a God's motivation doesn't include it's domain, something is slightly wrong.

[The_Snark]

Raksi's mutations aren't really the problem - the issue is the derangements, which aren't physical and therefore aren't protected by the tattoos (it's been made clear that those only defend against physical Shaping). That said, I don't know of any Solar Charm that lets you cure madness. Doesn't seem to have been a priority for Solars, historically speaking. Hmm, it's under Presence; no wonder I couldn't find it earlier.

A Dragon-Blooded with Purity of Mind Method could actually do this even more easily, if Raksi could be persuaded not to eat him alive for daring to suggest that she needs help. Which is a big if. And it doesn't guarantee she'll turn into a nice person afterwards, just a not-crazy one.

Is she statted somewhere? In any case, what's so bad about her hallucination derangement?

She's detailed in Compass of Celestial Directions: East. Her Hallucination derangement normally takes the form of people and monkeys pointing and laughing at her, which interacts very badly with Megalomania. When she is completely alone, it takes the form of her long-dead father beating her for being such a stupid girl. And at the level of derangement she suffers from, these hallucinations seem completely real and can't be denied, no matter that her father has been dead for over a thousand years.

[TheCountAlucard]

Raksi's mutations aren't really the problem - the issue is the derangements, which aren't physical and therefore aren't protected by the tattoos (it's been made clear that those only defend against physical Shaping).

Wrong - the derangements are a Wyld mutation, and they are protected by the tattoos, since it protects their bodies and minds.

[Lix Lorn]

Tattoos don't defend mentally. It got erratad.

[Lord Raziere]

my misconceptions:

for some reason Solars are always sunshine, perfection and order. and are always idealistic to me. I just can't imagine a chaotic or villainous Solar, chaos are Lunars and Infernals

[Xefas]

Completely unrelated to my last question. Do you guys think the Unconquered Sun wants to be addicted to the Games of Divinity? Or do you think he'd prefer to be able to come and play it whenever but also be able to responsibly manage his time to go fix the Exalted setting every once in a while?

[Lochar]

According to Daystar material, even after they beat back the Primoridals UCS continued to monitor creation for darkness and evil events. But he slowly stopped having to respond to them, as the Solars and other took care of it. I figure by the time the Usurpation came around, he would have taken his role back if it wasn't for the fact that he was too addicted.

And, ya know, Queen Merala's coffin sitting on his dais.

[SurlySeraph]

This is actually true though.

Is there one that retroactively turns people into ducks, though?

Also, I've decided to stop fiddling with the main SMA I've been working on and post it. It's about the principle of Connection, using the constellations as a lens to examine it. Form weapons are rope darts, fighting chains, and nunchuks; it requires at least 2 dots in Occult and at least one degree in Astrology as complementary abilities. Thoughts would be appreciated.

Spoiler

Show

The Student's Sutra of Connection: Once, there was a freckled maiden...
Starlight Reaches All
…who was never apart from her friends.
Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4;
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
With a blur of motion and a flash of starlight, the martial artist breaks one connection and returns to another. The Sidereal can instantly travel to a character that she has physically touched earlier in the scene (whether consensually or with an unarmed attack), and reestablish contact with that character. This effect is a perfect attack that resolves with 0 successes and deals no damage, though it can allow a Touch-keyword Charm to take effect. Supernatural effects that remove successes from attacks prevent the touch from landing, and the target can avoid the touch with perfect defenses as normal if he wishes, in which case the Sidereal simply appears next to the target.
If this Charm is used in response to an attack, either on the martial artist or on the character she seeks to touch, the attack resolves normally before the martial artist moves. This movement can interrupt a flurry if the martial artist moves out of the attacker's reach, ensuring that successive attacks automatically miss. If the martial artist interposes herself between a flurrying attacker and his target, subsequent attacks in the flurry are resolved as if the martial artist was using a Defend Other action.

Unbridgeable Lacuna Insouciance
She smiled down
Cost: 8m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4;
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Starlight Reaches All
The stars touch everyone, but few people ever touch a star. Most know by instinct that it is folly to try; and even the most powerful Sidereals found that their reach exceeded their grasp when they lost their hold on the Mask. With this Charm, the serene martial artist can become as blissfully untroubled and distant from harm as any star.
The martial artist can invoke this charm in response to any attack or social attack, even if it is unexpected. It is no harder to keep words from touching one's heart than to keep swords from piercing it, and an arrow fired at the sky will never hit whether the sky notices or not.
This Charm is a perfect dodge that works even against undodgeable attacks. The attacker must roll Willpower, and if he fails he loses 1 wp from frustration at the Sidereal's blithe denial that he poses any threat. This Charm always has the Temperance Flaw of Invulnerability.

All Fists Under Heaven
at all the suitors
Cost: 6m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4;
Type: Simple (Speed 5, DV -2)
Keywords: Compulsion, War
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None
For a moment, the Sidereal holds every weapon on the battlefield. He can force a group to launch a coordinated attack against a target of his choice. The martial artist may choose whether or not to take part in this attack himself. All of the attackers must have a weapon capable of hitting their assigned target.
The martial artist must succeed on a Charisma + War roll at a difficulty equal to one quarter the number of participants in the group rounded down, much like a normal coordinated attack. This is an unnatural mental influence that supernatural beings can resist by paying 1 wp; each participant who resists doesn't contribute to the difficulty of the Charisma + War roll. If it needs to be said, no attack occurs if every participant resists.
In Mass Combat, the Sidereal can instead force any unit with a Magnitude up to his Degree in astrology (maximum 3) to make a single attack against a target of his choice if he succeeds on a Charisma + War roll at a difficulty equal to the Magnitude + Drill of the unit. The unit's leader may resist by paying 2 wp.

Lying Oracle's Neyartha
who thought they could know her,
Cost: 4m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4;
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: All Fists Under Heaven
Any good liar knows that truth and falsehood, knowing and not knowing, are intimately connected. Any Resplendent Firmament stylist knows that it takes surprisingly little effort to take hold of one and swing the other around like a flail. The martial artist grips a fact or negation of fact, imagines its antithesis, and links the two with a flexible chain of equivocation and paradox, overlaying the resulting chain of Essence with her weapon or arm. This Charm encompasses two techniques; the Sidereal chooses which of the two to use each time she activates this charm. It supplements an attack or flurry, and also provides a non-action benefit.
If she chooses to hold truth and strike with falsehood, she may attempt a Perception + Awareness roll to detect any invisible, immaterial, or otherwise undetected opponents, adding bonus successes equal to her Degree in astrology (maximum 3). In addition, her attack becomes unexpected unless the attacker succeeds on a reflexive Perception + Awareness roll at difficulty 3, and she can choose her target after making the Awareness roll.
If she chooses to hold falsehood and strike with truth, she may attempt a Dexterity + Stealth roll to reestablish surprise before her attack, adding bonus successes equal to her Degree in astrology (maximum 3). In addition, her attack ignores Hardness and gains the Piercing tag.

Crow Feeds From the Pyre
and lapped up their tears.
Cost: 2m 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 4
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Unbridgeable Lacuna Insouciance, Lying Oracle's Neyartha
Every death opens up a space for a new life. Scavengers draw life from the dead and dying; the cycle of reincarnation turns on; and without the deaths of many great beings, Creation would not be as it is today. The martial artist can exploit this cycle, connecting his life to his foe's death even more directly than in the typical notion of self-defense.
The Sidereal binds himself to one opponent on the battlefield. For each health level of lethal or aggravated damage that opponent takes (up to a maximum of his Martial Arts + Degree in astrology per activation of this Charm), the Sidereal heals a health level. If the martial artist is unharmed when the bound opponent loses a health level, the martial artist instead gains a temporary -0 health level until the end of the scene. If the bound opponent dies, the Sidereal regains 3m per dot of permanent Essence that the opponent had. The Sidereal can activate this Charm more than once during a single scene, but not until the first target he used it on during that scene dies.

Resplendent Firmament Form
“I touch who I choose,” she said.
Cost: 15m, 1 wp; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 5
Type: Simple
Keywords: Form-Type
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Crow Feeds From the Pyre
A mortal swordsman tries to connect his parries with the enemy's attack and his attacks with the enemy's heart. A Resplendent Firmament stylist knows that every truly successful connection either prevents another from being made or severs an existing connection entirely. Trying to control whether links break or form is a waste of effort; it is far easier to simply control where.
With this Charm, the martial artist reduces his TNs for all Martial Arts rolls by -1 for each Degree in astrology he has, to a minimum TN of 4. He may reflexively pay 2m per attack to increase the TN of any attack aimed at him by the same number, up to a maximum TN of 9. He also can make Martial Arts attacks against characters up to [Martial Arts] yards away as if they were within his reach.
Finally, he can fly. He hangs from the stars on strings of fate, acknowledging that he is no more than Samsara's puppet, and she holds him up better than the ground ever could. Using this charm to fly is an Obvious effect.

To Clearer Skies
The Elder Sutra of Connection: She led them all
Cost: 10m + 1m per target, +2ahl; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 5
Type: Simple
Keywords: Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Resplendent Firmament Form
The martial artist ties others to himself via fragile strands of reality, and then hurls a thicker rope of fate like a grappling hook. This elastic rope stretches to reach and then sharply contracts, pulling the martial artist and the entire group along with him. The Sidereal can move himself and any number of beings whose Essence does not exceed his own within [Martial Arts] yards of him to any location within [Martial Arts] miles.
For a surcharge of 2 aggravated health levels, he may instead move the group anywhere inside Fate. He tears apart the links in his own nerves and sinews to forge more powerful bonds that can stretch across worlds without breaking.
The Sidereal can use this Charm to drag his enemies to a more favorable battlefield, such as the Crimson Panoply of Victory or five miles in midair. However, all of the targets become vaguely aware of the location's appearance and the Sidereal's attitude towards it as a consequence of their ties to him; any who are unwilling to go along for the ride may perfectly resist by paying 2 wp.
This Charm cannot transport beings that are normally supernaturally bound to a location outside of those bounds. For example, it couldn't be used to remove a demon from Malfeas, but it could move a demon that has already been summoned into Creation to somewhere else inside Fate. It also fails against magical wards on the level of Solar Circle Sorcery or greater.

Sky-as-Divan Repose
to her bed
Cost: 12m; Mins: Martial Arts 5, Essence 5
Type: Simple
Keywords: Combo-Basic
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: To Clearer Skies
The martial artist rests in the heavens, untroubled by the rage and desires of those below. This charm provides a scene-length perfect dodge against both physical and social attacks. However, it only functions on ticks where the martial artist's action is Guard, Aim, or Inactive. Doing anything more violent than observing breaks the perfectly untroubled state of mind that the Sidereal must maintain to remain above the world's violence.

Fivescore Flawless Blows
and touched them all.
Cost: 20m, 1wp; Mins: Martial Arts 6, Essence 6
Type: Simple (Speed 7, DV -2)
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Resplendent Firmament Form
The stars touch everything below them, forming and breaking more connections than anyone can count at every moment. With this charm, the Sidereal plucks a single thread of fate to hear where a hundred others vibrate in harmony. He then strikes the thread and follows through, each instant of pressure perfectly tuned to make one thread lash forwards with deadly precision.
The Sidereal makes a single perfect attack that strikes up to 100 characters, or a mass combat unit with Magnitude 3 or less. This attack ignores cover, and the martial artist has no need to actually see the targets, but no target may be further than a mile away from him.
Beings with Essence 2 or less, or mass combat units with Might 2 or less, are instantly slain unless they can employ a perfect defense, in which case the defense acts as usual. Otherwise, the martial artist makes a single attack roll; each target whose DVs this attack roll overcomes takes health levels of damage equal to the weapon's base damage + the Sidereal's Strength, regardless of soak, hardness, extra successes on the attack roll, etc.
The martial artist cannot under any circumstances attack any single opponent more than once with a single use of this Charm, though multiple souls of a Primordial are considered different opponents.

Heartstring-Tangling Revelation
“I lied,” she said
Cost: 12m; Mins: Martial Arts 6, Essence 6
Type: Reflexive (Step 3)
Keywords: Combo-OK, Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Fivescore Flawless Blows
With all the connections flying around during a battle, it's easy enough to tie a few knots. And just where the strings go when those knots unravel is always a surprise. The Sidereal seems to take an attack and then reveals its real recipient, her wounds melting away like illusions as the true victim crumples.
The martial artist may redirect an attack against her to anyone she can see except the attacker himself, regardless of whether the attacker could normally reach that target. The attack is resolved as normal against the new target, save that it becomes unexpected. For a 1wp surcharge, the Sidereal may redirect the attack to a being anywhere inside Fate for whom the attacker feels a positive Intimacy; love is as solid a bridge as any weapon. The Sidereal briefly gains knowledge of all of the attacker's positive Intimacies, and may choose which one to target. The result is clearly supernatural to anyone near the new target of the attack, as swords drop from the sky or arrows fly out of a mailbox to hit the target and then vanish from her wounds.
This Charm takes place in Step Three. This does mean that rerolls (which occur in Step Four) may allow an attack to bypass this form of defense. This weakness is considered to be a special flaw of invulnerability.
The attacker becomes aware of who he is harming in lieu of the martial artist just after it's too late to abort the attack, seeing the shocked face of a comrade or paramour flash before him. Knowing it can happen again, he is none too eager to repeat the experience. For the next 3 actions, he cannot attack the martial artist unless he fails a Temperance check. Even unnatural mental influence cannot compel him to attack the martial artist.

World-Stealing Sabaki
as her friends sprang out
Cost: 30m, 2wp, +1ahl ; Mins: Martial Arts 7, Essence 7
Type: Simple
Keywords: Touch
Duration: [Martial Arts] actions
Prerequisite Charms: Sky-as-Divan Repose, Heartstring-Tangling Revelation
To be cut off from everything is a common fear. It is also surprisingly easy to inflict. With a mere touch, the martial artist may keep every other touch away from a target. The touched opponent becomes incapable of inflicting damage on, affecting, or even sensing anything but the martial artist for the duration of this Charm. Nor can anything but the martial artist sense or touch him by any means. He cannot take damage from any external source but the martial artist, and objects that would make contact with him will slightly deflect their courses away. This includes the earth and the air. The target hovers slightly above the surface, and must make a Difficulty 1 Athletics + Dexterity check every time he makes a Move or Dash action to avoid falling, as it is significantly more difficult to walk on an absence of connections than on the ground. He also begins suffocating (see Exalted p. 130) and suffers a -2 internal penalty to all actions, unless he can find a way to breathe without air, water, or any other surrounding medium.
If the martial artist pays a surcharge of one aggravated health level, he can form a shield around the target that deflects the outside world for as long as he keeps the motes committed. This is most commonly used to leave a target isolated from the world and drowning, but could serve other purposes; a subject who precisely followed the martial artist's orders (or had an incredible spatial memory) could move with perfect stealth for as long as he could hold his breath.

Million-Star Cage
and dragged the suitors away.
Cost: 40m, 3wp; Mins: Martial Arts 7, Essence 7
Type: Simple
Keywords: Touch
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms:
To be cut off from everything is a common fear. It is also a rather silly one, since it is far worse to be bound into everything. A Sidereal martial artist can wrap a near-infinite array of tenuous links into a single sheaf and plug it into his opponent. The unceasing flow of countless influences batters him like raindrops in a hurricane, blowing away any attempt at action with a barrage of obstacles.
The Sidereal makes an unarmed attack. If he touches his opponent and deals damage, this effect lasts until the target can be removed from Fate, whether by entering the Wyld, Malfeas, etc. or through a Charm or other ability. If he touches and deals no damage, it lasts for the rest of the scene (unless the target leaves Fate before the end of the scene). If he fails to touch his opponent at all, this effect still lasts for [martial artist's Essence] actions; destiny cannot be dodged as easily as a single attack.
For whatever duration results, the target's TNs for all rolls increase by 3, to a maximum of 10. The target cannot even make normally diceless actions, such as moving or speaking, without succeeding on a reflexive Difficulty 1 Willpower roll. Note that this roll is at TN 10, like all other rolls made while under the effects of this Charm.

If the target dies while under the influence of this Charm, the martial artist has some control over their reincarnation. He can reflexively make a Difficulty 1 Craft (Fate) roll, success on which allows him to impose a lifelong Ascending or Descending Destiny of his choice on the target's next incarnation. See MoEP: Sidereals for more details on Ascending and Descending Destinies. A Sidereal, or certain gods, can lift this destiny from the target's next incarnation with a Difficulty 1 Craft (Fate) roll. Incidentally, this destiny tends to inexorably draw the target's next incarnation to meet the Resplendent Firmament master again as a side effect.
While hitting someone so hard that they are reborn as a cripple is viscerally appealing, most Resplendent Firmament masters are wise enough to put this final power to more practical purposes. One of the last great atrocities of the First Age was when Bright Shattered Ice, unsatisfied with civic order that was only usually flawless, demanded that her vizier kill everyone in Tzlati and reincarnate them destined to obey her from birth. Today, some among the Gold Faction whisper about one of Anys Syn's students who died in a sparring accident mere days after mastering Prismatic Arrangement of Creation Style... and add that there's something oddly familiar about Ragara Myrrun.

My main concerns are that Starlight Reaches All is too versatile and useful for an entry-level charm, and that Heartstring-Tangling Revelation may need the Chicanery-No keyword (this charm is for forcing your enemies to harm their loved ones, not for murdering major NPCs from the comfort of your manse).

[Mr.Bookworm]

Completely unrelated to my last question. Do you guys think the Unconquered Sun wants to be addicted to the Games of Divinity? Or do you think he'd prefer to be able to come and play it whenever but also be able to responsibly manage his time to go fix the Exalted setting every once in a while?

He is the embodiment of Conviction and Temperance. I don't think there's a single part of him that wants to be addicted.

Remember, the Primordials are the ones who made him sit down and play the games. It's not something he chose to do.

Also, Seraph, I'll try to post up some commentary later, but I'm actually working on my own SMA right now.

[Tavar]

To jump on the bandwagon a bit late; I have this idea that 4/5 dot manses should be rare, highly sought after places of power.

Completely unrelated to my last question. Do you guys think the Unconquered Sun wants to be addicted to the Games of Divinity? Or do you think he'd prefer to be able to come and play it whenever but also be able to responsibly manage his time to go fix the Exalted setting every once in a while?

I think the latter, the problem was that he couldn't really fix the setting when he wasn't addicted, and now, well, he is.

[TheCountAlucard]

Tattoos don't defend mentally. It got erratad.

Not in the Scroll of Errata, it didn't; at least, not as far as I could see. It got stealth-erratad in the Sidereal book, and in it, they said that Lunar tattoos protect their bodies and minds from Shaping.

[Mr.Bookworm]

To jump on the bandwagon a bit late; I have this idea that 4/5 dot manses should be rare, highly sought after places of power.

That's... canon.

Not in the Scroll of Errata, it didn't; at least, not as far as I could see. It got stealth-erratad in the Sidereal book, and in it, they said that Lunar tattoos protect their bodies and minds from Shaping.

I'm almost positive there's a statement to the opposite effect elsewhere, but I could be wrong.

[Lochar]

That's... canon.

Yes, but when 90% of your players end up with a 4 dot Solar manse specifically to get the Seven Leaping Dragons hearthstone, it sure doesn't look like it. :P

[Xefas]

So, and I'd joked about this for a long while, given the answers to my last two questions (asking a God to act within his domain is not harmful, and the Unconquered Sun doesn't want to be addicted to the Games of Divinity), does that mean that a single use of Sublimation of Ordained Purpose really would instantly fix the Unconquered Sun, no save, without any negative repercussions?

Are Essence 3 Malefactors the greatest hope for Creation?

[Mr.Bookworm]

So, and I'd joked about this for a long while, given the answers to my last two questions (asking a God to act within his domain is not harmful, and the Unconquered Sun doesn't want to be addicted to the Games of Divinity), does that mean that a single use of Sublimation of Ordained Purpose really would instantly fix the Unconquered Sun, no save, without any negative repercussions?

Are Essence 3 Malefactors the greatest hope for Creation?

No, because the Games of Divinity are an Essence 10 effect at the very least.

They also have some sort of crazy Zeal-like perfect trumping effect, because they were able to addict Sol despite his perfection abilities.

[Lochar]

I'd really like to see the Essence 3 Malefactor get to the UCS to actually hit him with it.

But also, it only lasts for a short period of time. Likely, the UCS would go back to the games the moment he can.