Nightmares of the Third Age

WarDragon said:
Personally, I've got one more Devil Tiger Charm I want to write before starting my actual sheet. Maybe two, if I can think of a good Imperfection...
And I'd still like some feedback on my Excellency. I'm considering raising the emphasis on the wealth/hoarding aspect, but not sure.


http://www.rpdom.com/resources/devil-tiger-baal-shazash.544/
You should compare Knightbane Strike to Sun-Sword Concentration (Ink Monkeys Solars, Scroll of Errata). Not sure if you intended it, but if I were you I'd clarify which type of Hardness it ignores. Natural hardness should arguably be untouched. The '+1m to apply to every attack in a flurry' repurchase feels a bit strong, but it's not unreasonably so.


At first, I thought Rending Dragon Claws might be too powerful, but on closer inspection I see that it's basically equivalent to an Orichalcum Daiklave generated with Glorious Solar Saber (same cost, type, etc), with -1 accuracy in exchange for +1 damage. Seems about par for the course to me.


Agree with the others on the Ascendancy Mantle, first is definitely better. Also more original, IMO.


I'm looking forward to seeing the social Charms you'll be developing, as well as anything more esoteric in general. You've got some interesting themes that you can play off of.
 
[QUOTE="MaHaSuchi's700]You should compare Knightbane Strike to Sun-Sword Concentration (Ink Monkeys Solars, Scroll of Errata). Not sure if you intended it, but if I were you I'd clarify which type of Hardness it ignores. Natural hardness should arguably be untouched. The '+1m to apply to every attack in a flurry' repurchase feels a bit strong, but it's not unreasonably so.

[/QUOTE]
Okay. Natural hardness it is. There's a TMA Charm that ignores it all, but that doesn't give Piercing. Would an upgrade or second repurchase allowing it to ignore natural hardness be too much?

At first, I thought Rending Dragon Claws might be too powerful, but on closer inspection I see that it's basically equivalent to an Orichalcum Daiklave generated with Glorious Solar Saber (same cost, type, etc), with -1 accuracy in exchange for +1 damage. Seems about par for the course to me.
Actually they were based on GSS with Razor Claws, and the Orichalcum bonus with damage instead of accuracy... didn't even notice that made it the same as Daiklaive stats. :confused: The thing with using Knightbane Strike with them was meant to be roughly the same as GSS's overdrive drip.


Would raising the mote cost, and having it improve clinches too, be overdoing it? I will edit it to specify that even though it's a natural attack, it's incompatible with mutations that give similar bonuses.

Agree with the others on the Ascendancy Mantle, first is definitely better. Also more original, IMO.
I'm looking forward to seeing the social Charms you'll be developing, as well as anything more esoteric in general. You've got some interesting themes that you can play off of.
Thanks. I have an idea for a mote-pool expander based on the Hoarding concept, and a couple other things. Social Charms are where I'm having the most trouble, really... anything I come up with, I have trouble explaining to myself why it couldn't also fit in Malfeas or Theion. Probably wait and develop those in play after getting a better feel for the character.


I'm really having trouble coming up with an Imperfection for his perfect defense (which will be a Soak). All of his combat Charms in general will stem from having a powerful, draconic body.


Coming next: the Charm that finished the Silver Prince!
 
WarDragon said:
Okay. Natural hardness it is. There's a TMA Charm that ignores it all, but that doesn't give Piercing. Would an upgrade or second repurchase allowing it to ignore natural hardness be too much?
Possibly, possibly not. It's very dependent on how its structured. Sun-Sword Concentration charges you an extra mote to do so at a Essence 3+ (with the Charm having an Ess2 min), so something like that would be fair.


Also, TMA from Scroll of the Monk are not balanced - there is crazy shit like automatically-unexpected attacks in some of those styles. In general, I would not use them as a guideline for balance.

WarDragon said:
Actually they were based on GSS with Razor Claws, and the Orichalcum bonus with damage instead of accuracy... didn't even notice that made it the same as Daiklaive stats. :confused: The thing with using Knightbane Strike with them was meant to be roughly the same as GSS's overdrive drip.
Would raising the mote cost, and having it improve clinches too, be overdoing it? I will edit it to specify that even though it's a natural attack, it's incompatible with mutations that give similar bonuses.
I think so, but it depends on how well it improves clinching. Clinches are very powerful from the get-go, so you have to tread carefully with how you decide to improve them.


Assuming you're basing this on the westernized version of a Dragon, they aren't terribly well known for their clinches though - at least with anything aside from their teeth. Eastern Dragons on the other hand are, but those would involve a snake-like body more than claws. I think that at the very least, it should be an upgrade Charm. I'd even argue it should be a Charm on its own similar to SHS's Dragon Coil Technique, but it could work in other ways.


The incompatibility is solid, and so is the buff when using Knightbane Strike.

WarDragon said:
Thanks. I have an idea for a mote-pool expander based on the Hoarding concept, and a couple other things. Social Charms are where I'm having the most trouble, really... anything I come up with, I have trouble explaining to myself why it couldn't also fit in Malfeas or Theion. Probably wait and develop those in play after getting a better feel for the character.
I'm really having trouble coming up with an Imperfection for his perfect defense (which will be a Soak). All of his combat Charms in general will stem from having a powerful, draconic body.
There's nothing wrong with if Charms being similar to Malfeas/Theion in how they approach things. Many of the Yozis have some thematic overlap, but there's enough uniqueness in each to generally allow you to differentiate between the two. Perhaps you could start with something that reinforces intimacies for wealth, etc?


Let me get back to you later on the Imperfection.
 
[QUOTE="MaHaSuchi's700]Assuming you're basing this on the westernized version of a Dragon, they aren't terribly well known for their clinches though...

[/QUOTE]
They ARE known for breathing fire. I read Dragonology, (the big, gimmicky dragon book) when I was younger. One entry mentioned that they sometimes used large jewels from their hoard to cover their underbellies... Maybe you could have a charm that increases soak based on your artifacts or resources?
 
That's a pretty cool concept, soak based on Resources. Maybe that could be part of the Soak-boosting formula (Essence + Resources or something like that).


Definitely seconding the breath weapons.
 
Heh. Already writing the fire breath charm.


Actually, the TMA that ignores hardness is Five Dragon Style, from the DB hardback. It is considered about the most powerful TMA out there, though...


Re: clinches. My idea was basically of a dragon swooping down, grabbing its prey like an eagle, and carrying it off to devour. Plus it just makes sense to me that clawed fingers would give an advantage in a grapple, especially when compared to a sword or something. Still, upgrade charm it is.


I like the Resource-based defense, idea... I'm already thinking of getting the Malfeas Charms that boost soak, so what about one that gives natural Hardness equal to Stamina + Resources? That'd be a good prerequisite for his Perfect, I think.


I was generally thinking the wealth/greed and social/dominance trees would be separate, but they could connect at some points, I suppose.
 
Wait, are you building a Yozi based on the concept of a Western Dragon? 'cause I might have to steal that sometime in the future.
 
Custom weapon for my solar general. Thoughts?


The Cry That Wakes The World


Speed: 5


Accuracy: +3


Damage: +11L/4


Defense: +3


Rate: 2


Tages: 2, O, R


Attunement: 10


Cost: 5


This orichalcum Grand Daiklave has three Hearthstone slots, and as a Holy effect, it deals Aggravated Damage to Creatures of Darkness.


At the start of a battle, the wielder may reflexively commit 5m and cause the sword to light up as a solar anima at the 10 mote level. When it shines thus, all those who participate in the battle count it as a scene spent building an intimacy of respect to the bearer. Heroic characters can resist this at the cost of 1 wp.


Extras who are not Creatures of Darkness and participated in the battle (regardless of side) also gain an intimacy to having participated in it. E.g. "We are veterans of the battle of the Red Cliffs, that bond makes us brothers even if we were on opposing sides." Once an Extra has accumulated three such intimacies, they re combined into a single Intimacy that covers the entire war.


In Mass Combat, the wielder of this sword may take a speed 5 miscelleneous action and spend 10m to designate all units led by a Creature of Darkness or composed primarily of Creatures of Darkness as common threats. She then rolls Charisma + War and adds a number of automatic successes equal to her highest virtue. This constitutes a social attack against every unit involved in the battle which are not designated a common threat. Any unit that fails to resist this social attack suffest an Unnatural Compulsion to do their best to engage a designated unit of their choice. This effect lasts for a number of actions equal to the wielder's Essence can be resisted at the cost of 2 wp. A unit that resist this effect is immune to further activations for the rest of the scene.


In regular combat, the wielder may likewise take a speed 5 miscelleneous action and pay 10m to designate all Creatures of Darkness as common threats. This works completely equivalently with the Mass Combat use.
 
Stuff like this is why I wanted to get rid of my CoD designation. >_> It's a good effect, but somewhat alienates us DT's from the game a bit.
 
JayTee said:
Wait, are you building a Yozi based on the concept of a Western Dragon? 'cause I might have to steal that sometime in the future.
Yep! With shades of Baron Wulfenbach from Girl Genius. I originally meant it as the other way around (Klaus with traits of a Western Dragon), but it's turning out to work better like this.
 
That's pretty cool. I had a few ideas for Devil Tiger Yozis, and that was one of them. Sadly I lack the mechanical chops to build it myself, but I might borrow yours once it's done.
 
[QUOTE="Seeker of the End]Stuff like this is why I wanted to get rid of my CoD designation. >_> It's a good effect, but somewhat alienates us DT's from the game a bit.

[/QUOTE]
Not much. I will never use it in an ordinary battle where you guys are fighting alongside the rest of us, unless it's to make you tanks. And in Mass Combat, you can just act as Heroes or Sorcerors in a unit led by a solar, and you're unaffected.
 
Esbilon said:
Custom weapon for my solar general. Thoughts?
The Cry That Wakes The World


Speed: 5


Accuracy: +3


Damage: +13L/5


Defense: +3


Rate: 2


Tages: 2, O, R


Attunement: 10


Cost: 5


This orichalcum Grand Daiklave has three Hearthstone slots, and as a Holy effect, it deals Aggravated Damage to Creatures of Darkness.


Participating in a battle where this blade is used counts as a scene of building an intimacy of respect to the bearer. Heroic characters can resist this at the cost of 1 wp.


Extras who are not Creatures of Darkness and participated in the battle (regardless of side) also gain an intimacy to having participated in it. E.g. "We are veterans of the battle of the Red Cliffs, that bond makes us brothers even if we were on opposing sides." Once an Extra has accumulated three such intimacies, they re combined into a single Intimacy that covers the entire war.


In Mass Combat, the wielder of this sword may take a speed 5 miscelleneous action and spend 10m to designate all units led by a Creature of Darkness or composed primarily of Creatures of Darkness as common threats. She then rolls Charisma + War and adds a number of automatic successes equal to her highest virtue. This constitutes a social attack against every unit involved in the battle which are not designated a common threat. Any unit that fails to resist this social attack suffest an Unnatural Compulsion to do their best to engage a designated unit of their choice. This effect lasts for a number of actions equal to the wielder's Essence can be resisted at the cost of 2 wp. A unit that resist this effect is immune to further activations for the rest of the scene.


In regular combat, the wielder may likewise take a speed 5 miscelleneous action and pay 10m to designate all Creatures of Darkness as common threats. This works completely equivalently with the Mass Combat use.
I will admit. My first thought is "why not just use a Daiklave of Conquest? Or the Aidenweiss, if the ST would allow a N/A weapon/manse?" On second glance... yeah, seems strictly better than the Daiklave of Conquest for the same artifact cost.
 
WarDragon said:
I will admit. My first thought is "why not just use a Daiklave of Conquest? Or the Aidenweiss, if the ST would allow a N/A weapon/manse?" On second glance... yeah, seems strictly better than the Daiklave of Conquest for the same artifact cost.
It is completely different from a Daiklave of Conquest. DoC boosts your friends and harms your enemies in Mass Combat, this one changes loyalties and units Creation.
 
[QUOTE="Seeker of the End]The question is, will your Solar character do that? Or will they attack us the moment he/she figures out what DTs truly are?

[/QUOTE]
That is completely unaffected by which artifacts we may carry.
 
Only if you actually live up to your name as a "Creature of Darkness", will my Daiklave find your throat.
 
Esbilon said:
It is completely different from a Daiklave of Conquest. DoC boosts your friends and harms your enemies in Mass Combat, this one changes loyalties and units Creation.
Still has the same themes of leadership and warfare. Also has more than twice the damage, one more point of defense, and twice the overwhelming rating. It has an O rating higher than any published artifact weapon.


Bare minimum, drop it's weapon stats to the same as an ordinary Grand Daiklave. Then we can worry about whether its Intimacy-forging and CoD-hating powers are balanced at an extra two dots.
 
Only if you actually live up to your name as a "Creature of Darkness", will my Daiklave find your throat.
See, this is the sort of policy statement that's not at all reassuring to the Ebbie-favored Malefactor in the party...
 
Sorry about that... I'm currently thinking up solar antagonists for my game and I got the mindset confused. Most of them are knight-templars, religious zealots, etc.
 
Scandinavian said:
See, this is the sort of policy statement that's not at all reassuring to the Ebbie-favored Malefactor in the party...
Really, so long as you don't set yourself up as an evil jerk, the rest of us wont care :)
 
WarDragon said:
Still has the same themes of leadership and warfare. Also has more than twice the damage, one more point of defense, and twice the overwhelming rating. It has an O rating higher than any published artifact weapon.
Bare minimum, drop it's weapon stats to the same as an ordinary Grand Daiklave. Then we can worry about whether its Intimacy-forging and CoD-hating powers are balanced at an extra two dots.
Do the rest of you agree with that assessment? I think the powers are quite a bit weaker than a DoC.
 
[QUOTE="Seeker of the End]I'm a raging Min-Maxer at heart, I don't think that my statement would be good. :(

[/QUOTE]
Powergames (my preferred term for us) are generally good at game mechanics, and your statement should then be quite good. At least if you're honest ;)
 

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