Changing Moon anima

[Malekith]

Just a thought, wouldnt it be the opposite? With lack of readily available mirrors [being out in the wild and all], plus peoples own propencity to see themselves when they were young adults overcome their current, real image?


Just a thought

Well, I haven't seen the text on the Changing Moon anima myself, but if they're not really any more specific than that, I'd be immediately inclined to state that it has to be someone as they last saw them (barring changeable things like clothes, of course). Meaning, of course, the Lunar can't take on the visage of their own, younger self. Then again, we're talking about the Chosen of Luna the trickster deity, here, so I could be easily swayed to think otherwise. It might be flawed a little bit by any idealism/self-delusion, looking like a better version of themself as they were at that time, though.

 

[Gylthinel]

But what's the difference between being behind a wall, and behind an illusion? If you say you can see a Tell through the illusion, does that mean if you walked behind someone else' illusion your Tell would be visible behind it?

I think we all know that Exalted has poorly written mechanics, so getting legalistic over the precise wording of this (or any) issue is pretty pointless. Look at the spirit of the rule: your Tell is exactly that: it TELLS about you. Splitting hairs over the nature of this illusion and that illusion is simply a lack of good faith regarding the essence of the setting. By trying to use a minor illusionary power such as an anima effect to get around a thematic rib in the Exalted body is just bad form. Just like trying to design a tell that's not readily visible. The rule says it must be visible. That's not to say that it'll shear through attempts to hide it, it's that it's supposed to not be hidden. The obvious exception to this is regarding charms/knacks that specifically hide your Tell.

 

[Chaka]

So you can never have a tell that can be hidden under your clothes?


Please.


EDIT: To clarify, I'm not talking about a 'birthmark at the tail of the spine.' Let's take an example.


Mako is a Changing Moon Lunar. Her spirit shape is a giant butterfly. In her human form, her tell is a massive, impossibly vivid pattern resembling her wings covering most of her back, so vivid it could never be mistaken for a mere tattoo.


Now.


Are you trying to tell me I can't have this character put on a kimono? That's retarded. Like, actually retarded. The Tell is concealable, yes, but it's not like no-one's ever going to have opportunity to see the character's back. As long as there's a reasonable chance that the tell will be exposed at least some of the time, I have no problem with players wearing clothes that conceal the tell (or tattoo artefacts, for that matter.) More than anything else, it's cool. This is a cool, thematic tell, and as we all know, the Rule of Cool has license in Exalted to bend the other rules across its knee and spank them.


For the same reason, an illusion that covers your body should apply. It costs ten motes and if your anima flares at all you'll burn through the illusion and be obviously a Lunar anyway.


I deny your legalese and retort with common sense, sirs.

 

[Ker'ion]

I deny your legalese and retort with common sense the sense of coolness that stunts are based on, sirs.

Fix'd.

 

[Chaka]

Why thank you, ker'ion. That is a better way of putting it.

 

[Ker'ion]

Yer welky.

 

[Gylthinel]

That's not to say that it'll shear through attempts to hide it, it's that it's supposed to not be hidden.

Are you trying to tell me I can't have this character put on a kimono?

The Tell is concealable, yes, but it's not like no-one's ever going to have opportunity to see the character's back. As long as there's a reasonable chance that the tell will be exposed at least some of the time, I have no problem with players wearing clothes that conceal the tell (or tattoo artefacts, for that matter.)

In this nice example, the character's actions and the player's intent determine it's validity for me. If the character acknowledges that their back will be seen, and is cool with that, then I'd have no problem w/ this tell, since it's not intended to be hidden. If the player's intention is to make a cool tell that they can conveniently and perfectly hide, then I'd veto the crap out of it. If the player is trying to force me as the Gm to be a jerk by constantly causing her Kimono to fall off ( :shock: ) then that is combative and not good form from a metagame standpoint. By the tone of your example, I would say this tell would be reasonable.

For the same reason, an illusion that covers your body should apply. It costs ten motes and if your anima flares at all you'll burn through the illusion and be obviously a Lunar anyway.

This seems to contract your standpoint on the coolness of the Tell. What you're saying is, it's ok for the Tell to be not cool (by not existing) if a player commits 10 motes. Spend enough motes, and you have a valid reason to be uncool? Again, the obvious caveat to this is charms explicitely intended to hide the Tell. Now, you could say the anima is specifically intended to hide the Tell. And I wouldn't argue with that standpoint, as it's a valid standpoint, just not one that'll make an appearance in my game. To each their own.


And the caveat about the anima is rhetorical run-around, we aren't talking about the illusion v anima, we're talking about the illusion v Tell.

 

[Chaka]

It's personal conjecture as regards the anima, yes, but I feel the high cost and the fragility of the disguise it creates is a balancing factor.

 

[Smeggedoff]

So you can never have a tell that can be hidden under your clothes?
Please.


EDIT: To clarify, I'm not talking about a 'birthmark at the tail of the spine.' Let's take an example.


Mako is a Changing Moon Lunar. Her spirit shape is a giant butterfly. In her human form, her tell is a massive, impossibly vivid pattern resembling her wings covering most of her back, so vivid it could never be mistaken for a mere tattoo.


Now.


Are you trying to tell me I can't have this character put on a kimono? That's retarded. Like, actually retarded. The Tell is concealable, yes, but it's not like no-one's ever going to have opportunity to see the character's back. As long as there's a reasonable chance that the tell will be exposed at least some of the time, I have no problem with players wearing clothes that conceal the tell (or tattoo artefacts, for that matter.) More than anything else, it's cool. This is a cool, thematic tell, and as we all know, the Rule of Cool has license in Exalted to bend the other rules across its knee and spank them.

Cool tell, imo in this situation the character would be able to wear clothes, but for example, the tiny coloured scale on the wings permeate the kimono causing a large stain to blossom on the offending garment, only someone who manages to defend against the tells mental attack is able to see this for anything other than another part of the Kimono's pattern.


As the book states, you can disguise a tell but it will find a way to show through