The Return of the Scarlet Empress OOC

[Tavar]

Just to clarify, since nobody else in the party seemed to want to discuss matters, Child is heading to Emeralds house.

Oh, and before he gets out into the streets, he'll adopt the Auspicious Destiny that he used to talk to the Immaculates last night.

[Ifni]

Are we waiting to hear back from more people in the safehouse group before everyone arrives at the scene of the crime shadowland anima flare? Just checking in - I don't see much more I can do until I get a description of the scene there, unless Symphony does something other than follow along.

(Yes, I am an impatient Ifni. I want my inter-character interaction )

Also, on a random side-note, I was looking through DB charms, and a DB favoring Investigation and Linguistics could make a decent stab at what Eris has been (seen to be) doing - Wind-Carried Words, obviously, Cipher Missive works as a substitute for Letter-Within-A-Letter Technique, Investigation has Scent-of-Crime Method + Falsehood Unearthing Attitude + Revelation of Associates Hunch. She could've plausibly used the latter to pick up Chimes' connection to Skandi, and a good Investigation+Perception roll to guess at his motivations. Of course, Revelation of Associates doesn't actually work on Anathema (post-errata), but I can't imagine that being common knowledge.

(Of course she also has her Solar-super-soaker combo, which she will probably be attempting to pass off as a custom Survival/Resistance charm with a straight face if anyone sees her invoke it; at least it has a somewhat Wood-Aspect-y combo display.)

[industrious]

Sorry, yes. We're waiting for Aevylmar; he told me he'd have a post up shortly.

[Aevylmar]

Greetings to the new players! My apologies to the old ones! Sorry for not posting yet - I hadn't realized that the game had resumed yet, and had believed, incorrectly, that we were still recruiting new players. Posting now.

[Ifni]

Great! Good to see you back, Aevylmar, and greetings

[Ifni]

industrious, couple of questions:

-Can I tell how many combatants there were?
-Do you generally award stunts out-of-combat? If so, did I get any on those rolls? (the stunt dice rolled terribly, but Essence regen is still a consideration)

If out-of-combat stunts are a rare thing then I'll stop using Charms so much - it's fine up to this point, I just wanted to ask for reference.

[Tavar]

Um...is the shadowland still there or is it gone?

Also, at this point I think 3 of us are on the way to the house.

[industrious]

Originally Posted by Ifni

industrious, couple of questions:

-Can I tell how many combatants there were?
-Do you generally award stunts out-of-combat? If so, did I get any on those rolls? (the stunt dice rolled terribly, but Essence regen is still a consideration)

If out-of-combat stunts are a rare thing then I'll stop using Charms so much - it's fine up to this point, I just wanted to ask for reference.

You can tell there were at least 3, probably more, but you can't pin down an exact number.

I usually do award stunts out-of-combat when appropriate; give yourself a 2 die stunt.

Originally Posted by Tavar

Um...is the shadowland still there or is it gone?

Also, at this point I think 3 of us are on the way to the house.

Shadowland is gone.

Feel free for your characters to arrive whenever.

[Aevylmar]

My assumption is that the connection-to-the-underworld part is gone, and the actively-tainting-everything-inside part is gone, but the everything-inside-died-horribly part is still there.

Also, do not trust Chimes. Ever. Under any circumstances.

[Ifni]

Originally Posted by Aevylmar

My assumption is that the connection-to-the-underworld part is gone, and the actively-tainting-everything-inside part is gone, but the everything-inside-died-horribly part is still there.

That's my understanding - the sun is shining on it, but the after-effects of the blighting are still present.

Also, do not trust Chimes. Ever. Under any circumstances.

Aww, but he seems so nice. Even if Judge's Ear Technique (i.e. Solar lie-detector charm) gives me a continuous low-grade headache when I switch it on in his presence

(Sure, he's not above a little blackmail and deniable assassination, but he's a Guildsman...)

EDIT: And thank you for the 2-die stunt industrious

[Maugan Ra]

Quick elaboration here - Zhou doesn't use the term 'Anathema' more out of a general rejection of the Immaculate philosophy than any real degree of factual knowledge on them. And he doesn't like the Immaculates in large part because of their strong influence in the Realm, though their teachings generally make little sense to him anyway.

In short, if he discovers that Solars aren't necessarily as bad as they've been portrayed, his initial reaction is probably going to be somewhat along the lines of 'Hah, I knew the Realm was full of idiots.'

Kinda petty, to be honest, but as he said, he's not perfect

[Ifni]

Understood, with regard to Zhou, and I find that attitude both laudable and amusing Especially since he'll have a healthier attitude to renegade Abyssals than Eris does, as a result...

Eris was a true believer in the Immaculate doctrines up to around age 20 (because they tell a very appealing story, when the only Dragon-Blood you know is your awesome big sister and the only Anathema you know are the Mask's deathknights), it's been a bit of a long slow process to get rid of those ingrained attitudes, and she still finds it easy to talk the talk.

Just a note, I have Judge's Ear Technique up, so everyone talking to Eris, note if you're saying anything that's a lie or a half-truth. As previously, I will assume everything Chimes says is a half-truth unless stated otherwise

[Maugan Ra]

Ah yes, Judge's Ear. Well, you'd get the impression that Zhou is speaking something of a half truth there. The belief that everyone should be judged on their own merits and not on what the Immaculates say about them is certainly true in terms of that's what he believes, but it's not the only reason for his choice of terminology.

The truth, but not the whole truth, as it were. I think Judge's Ear Technique would let Eris deduce that much.

[Lix Lorn]

Just want to say I'm still here. feelin' bleh at this exact moment, and slightly lost of where I am after the pause. But I'm still here. Hi.

[Ifni]

As I understand it, the current situation is:

-Kharal Zhou (Fire Aspect) and Eris (Eclipse posing as a Wood Aspect, under the name Untimely Orchid) are poking around the site of last night's battle, trying to figure out what happened, accompanied by Symphony of Chimes (NPC Guildsman and Lunar posing as a mortal).

-Child Of Steel And Ruby has just confronted them to ask what they're doing, posing as a guardsman/soldier (right? That's my memory of your Destiny; if I'm wrong, please let me know)

-Skandi is sitting on the roof as a raiton, watching the proceedings.

-Aya went with Child to the site of the battle, but he asked her to hang back, since he's worried about the wards on Emerald's house.

-Isa spent the night at the Immaculate shrine and is now feeling a strange tugging.

-Sierra, Triumphant Rose Guardian and Penumbra spent the night with most of the rest of the group at the Cult of the Illuminated temple, but haven't stated what they're doing in the morning. Everyone else in that group was leaving to stake out Emerald's house, though.

Please correct me if any of this is wrong.

Also, current leads / things to investigate are:

Spoiler

-Killing of Sidereals' friends/family (group's main focus)
-Burning Waters
-The akuma in the Cleansing
-The very-compelling play that nobody will describe in detail (although this one, for my character at least, is currently only at the level of, "Oh, I should see that, and maybe see if the troupe has any recent news from Lookshy")

[Tavar]

That sounds about right.

[industrious]

Originally Posted by Ifni

As I understand it, the current situation is:

-Kharal Zhou (Fire Aspect) and Eris (Eclipse posing as a Wood Aspect, under the name Untimely Orchid) are poking around the site of last night's battle, trying to figure out what happened, accompanied by Symphony of Chimes (NPC Guildsman and Lunar posing as a mortal).

-Child Of Steel And Ruby has just confronted them to ask what they're doing, posing as a guardsman/soldier (right? That's my memory of your Destiny; if I'm wrong, please let me know)

-Skandi is sitting on the roof as a raiton, watching the proceedings.

-Aya went with Child to the site of the battle, but he asked her to hang back, since he's worried about the wards on Emerald's house.

-Isa spent the night at the Immaculate shrine and is now feeling a strange tugging.

-Sierra, Triumphant Rose Guardian and Penumbra spent the night with most of the rest of the group at the Cult of the Illuminated temple, but haven't stated what they're doing in the morning. Everyone else in that group was leaving to stake out Emerald's house, though.

Please correct me if any of this is wrong.

Also, current leads / things to investigate are:

Spoiler

-Killing of Sidereals' friends/family (group's main focus)
-Burning Waters
-The akuma in the Cleansing
-The very-compelling play that nobody will describe in detail (although this one, for my character at least, is currently only at the level of, "Oh, I should see that, and maybe see if the troupe has any recent news from Lookshy")

I swear that play is totally innocent. Really. Nothing suspicious about it at all.

Other than that, yeah, this seems accurate.

[Ifni]

Originally Posted by industrious

I swear that play is totally innocent. Really. Nothing suspicious about it at all.

Other than that, yeah, this seems accurate.

Well, in that case Eris will get to take some time off and see an enjoyable performance, assuming she gets around to it at some point

/hugs Sagacious Reading of Intent

I am mildly amused by the fact that there are now four disguised Celestials on that rooftop, none of whom are aware of all the others (well, unless Chimes is better informed than Orchid thinks he is)

[Maugan Ra]

And one Terrestrial, who presently believes only one other person there is Exalted, and is wrong about what type of Exalt she is. Fun times.

[Ifni]

Originally Posted by Maugan Ra

And one Terrestrial, who presently believes only one other person there is Exalted, and is wrong about what type of Exalt she is. Fun times.

Yup. I feel a little sorry for Zhou; he's been completely honest about himself, and everyone else is so shady... of course, he's the only one of us for whom complete honesty won't result in people running screaming (well, maybe Sierra and the Sidereals)

I'm basically waiting for Chimes or Child to reply (or for someone else to enter the scene) before Orchid says anything more.

[The_Snark]

Originally Posted by Ifni

Yup. I feel a little sorry for Zhou; he's been completely honest about himself, and everyone else is so shady... of course, he's the only one of us for whom complete honesty won't result in people running screaming (well, maybe Sierra and the Sidereals)

"I'm a member of the conspiracy that secretly tries to run the world behind the scenes" may not have quite the same effect as "I'm an Anathema!" but it doesn't exactly encourage honesty.

Will post for Isa tonight.

[Aevylmar]

Skandi is trying to help! It's just that you two look kind of look like "Immaculate Pawns of Symphony of Chimes" to the untrained eye, so there's really not many hints he can throw your way.

[Ifni]

Originally Posted by Aevylmar

Skandi is trying to help! It's just that you two look kind of look like "Immaculate Pawns of Symphony of Chimes" to the untrained eye, so there's really not many hints he can throw your way.

Well, good to know Orchid is doing a decent job at playing her role Although we did have that brief conversation about being in favor of Lunars when they're fighting off deathknights, the 'Anathema', not judging people based on what the Immaculate Order thinks of them, etc - Eris was trying to test out what Zhou thought + lay some groundwork for asking Symphony about Lunars, but Skandi would've overheard.

And I did try to follow up on your hint, but while Eris has met Lunars, she's still not quite at that level of familiarity/paranoia that makes her wonder if every bird might possibly be a disguised shapeshifter

[Tavar]

Um...ok, I'm confused. We fought on the rooftop garden of Emerald's house. Is this some other house now?

[Ifni]

Originally Posted by Tavar

Um...ok, I'm confused. We fought on the rooftop garden of Emerald's house. Is this some other house now?

Hmm. I thought it was the garden of the house next to Emerald's, but rereading, Penumbra just raised that as a possibility. industrious' more recent post just said there was a ruined garden, and one of the houses had the roof caved in (presumably Emerald's, since the Calibration Gate made the hole iirc) - didn't specify if they were the same.

If it is Emerald's roof-garden, Emerald or one of his housemates was apparently at a party for the rich and idle this morning, complaining about their lovely garden being ruined To whit:

"That Anathema ruined my garden! I spent nearly a talent on the finest and most exotic of flora - withered! Completely gone!"

Eris offered to help, in response to that, and her offer of aid was accepted.

On arriving at the scene, she was looking at the withered garden (rather than the hole in the roof), because that's where the signs of the shadowland are most obvious, and she's frankly a lot more worried about deathknights than Lunars.

[industrious]

No, this is Emerald's house. What's the confusion about?

Ah. I see.

The Rooftop Garden belongs to Emerald's neighbor, but the roofs are all connected once one's on them.

[Ifni]

... wow, near-perfectly simultaneous posts? I'm impressed.

I suspect the confusion is that Eris is under the impression that she has permission from the owner to be here (based on what I just quoted), and Child is trying to square this with Emerald inviting a couple of Dragon-Bloods and Symphony of Chimes to poke around his house, especially when he's meant to be in Yu-Shan.

EDIT: Allllll the Sidereal'ing.

[industrious]

It is fitting, though.

[Ifni]

How do Resplendencies hold up against Judge's Ear Technique? If they don't trump it (or force a roll-off), Child's statement is mostly a lie, correct? (if I'm wrong, let me know - I believe he was present at the start of the fight?)

[Tavar]

I asked the Exalted IrC the same thing, and the answer is a resounding 'who knows'.

As far as they argued, there were 4 options:
A) RD overrides everything else, reading as truth.
B)Partial truth, though specific phrasing can pierce this.
C) Roll off.
D) JET overrides.