Dice [OOC] - To Stand Against the Crimson Tide

[Tachyon]

Maybe I need to invest more in Dodge so I can bail easier

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Ohh, thanks for the input.

My plan for fighting was to hide and hope the five(!) other Exalts draw the heat lol

Will take a look at different Martial Arts though, there are ones that have use outside combat as well.

I don't think I have xp left? 28 on abilities, 20 on charms and then 8 on merits.

Then, Throne shadow actually fits your character like a glove. The style allows you to empower others who are fighting on your behalf, like a puppet master.

 

[Tachyon]

Ohh, I do like the sound of that. I only skimmed some styles earlier, will take more of a deep dive

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Ohh, I do like the sound of that. I only skimmed some styles earlier, will take more of a deep dive

Martial arts are the best way for a Sidereal to do things outside the scope of their limited charmset. Because unlike other exalts, it's harder for them to add Charms.

Throne Shadow is a good basis, as is Dreaming Pearl Courtesan, which is also useful in social situations, and White Veil, if it existed.
Also, to learn a Sidereal Martial Art, you first need to learn an entire Martial Art, and the Sidereal Arts are strange and weird, like the Sidereal Charmset.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Tachyon No Starmetal Mask, but there's a Green Jade Mask that allows one to masquerade as one of the Fair Folk.

 

[Tachyon]

Sadface. Already a sidereal charm for that (that I plan on getting).
Will try and cook something up over the coming few days and get Random's eyes on it

 

[Tachyon]

While Shadow Throne is very cool thematically, I think it's too small a bang for the buck. Not only would I have to scramble together ability dots for Martial Arts, but I'd also need apprentices, which probably means Retainer merits, unless another PC really wants Martial Arts (Shadow Throne) as well, which I rate as unlikely. Then it's 4 charm picks to get to the 'Form' charm, and that allows me to;
1. Increase Guile for a scene and be better at disguising. Probably the best charm for my character, but I can do similar/exact the same things with other charms but better.
2. Answer questions about a character, specifically combat questions. Good, I like these sorts of charms, but I have others I'd rather have before that.
3. Teach Martial Arts too. Caveat is that I need to know the Martial Art, so limited to teaching Shadow Throne.
4. Use my students for various buffs. Most notably I can remove stealth penalties (I can already do this with Soft Presence), become better at introducing facts (I lack the lore at the moment, but it's something I definitely want to be able to do eventually) and then it's a few combat buffs.

Thematically it's really cool, but I think the mechanically capital I would have to spend could be better used elsewhere. There are numerous charms within abilities I already have which can aid in combat (Sidereal Shell-Games, Blinding the Boar, Unweaving Method etc etc), I just didn't pick them. Perhaps having dots in a dedicated combat ability is expected?

Random Word How much combat proficiency are you expecting the PCs to have? Exalted is a bit funky in that having a weak combatant can be a huge liability since it's an easy source of initative for the other side. Would you prefer I have dots in a combat ability (Probably Martial arts), or at least a bit more in Dodge?

And big thanks to you Red Shadow Claws ! I've looked at Ebon Shadow as well (honestly kinda good, but I *really* dig Shadow Throne's theme so if I want Martial it'd probably be that), but can't find the Pearl Courtesan thing. What book is that in?

 

[Random Word]

Beating up trivial opponents for initiative is explicitly forbidden in Ex3e. If you are not an active combatant, you do not roll JB, you do not pass go, you are not an initiative pinata. If a combatant wants to threaten a noncombatant PC they have to catch you when you're undefended by someone else and hold you at bay. Don't casually walk through a battlefield assuming you're immune to harm, narrative threats still apply in full, but in the same way we won't get out the dice to find out if a Dawn can overcome a mortal warrior, we won't get out the dice to find out if a mortal warrior can overcome you in a physical altercation. Social and stealth are of course perfectly good defenses against many threats.

As a general rule I do not require PCs to be combat capable, especially as the number of PCs increases. Exalted 3e combat does not scale well to large combat encounters. It is fairly evidently designed for 1 vs 1 or other small group encounters. It's a baffling design decision given the genre. The danger with not being combat capable is that combat is a lengthy thing for which you may feel you have to sit on the sidelines and twiddle your thumbs, but if you're creative and have other tools like stealth and social, you can participate in fun ways indirectly. It can be a fun way for the Dawn or Full Moon to exercise their Defend Other Charms to protect a 'helpless' PC, and add some drama to combat if they're into the protector fantasy. Similarly, the social character protects them in social influence.

but can't find the Pearl Courtesan thing. What book is that in?

Core, p 456

 

[Sherwood]

Sjet
S1-0-0

The Saint of Valour advances shield first through a wall as if it isn't there, radiating an icy burst of spectral power that's almost refreshing in this heat, raining shattered plaster and rough-hewn brickwork around him. The warriors escorting you have become more comfortable as they witness first hand the efficacy of your virtuous guardian in warding off enemy arrows and javelins assailing them through windows or doors. You emerge with them amongst the water barrels in a fishmonger's shop near the base of the market tower, from which the market guard of House Akechi looked down over the stalls below to keep order over trade. From the bodies in the street, it looks like they fought to the last and made the enemy pay. Burials will have to come later.

The mist is obviously unnatural when it rolls in. It takes no Exalted eyes to see that. You can see more, though. You can see the tendrils of essence running through it, could maybe even trace them back to their source. It's thick, you can barely see a few metres in front of you, but your essence sight can see further. Looming out of the mist, not as a shadow but a glowing bundle of dangerously swollen meridians, is a hulking tower of a man. The sorcery performed on him is artful and terrible. You can see the link to some distant great spirit of earth pouring foreign essence into his meridians to empower him, but at such terrible cost. Every minute he fights like this must be costing him days, perhaps even months of his life. He must have been an incredible physical specimen to have survived the procedure at all. You can see the gates constructed to throttle the flow have all been thrown open, and as he lifts his arms high over his head and his essence flows deep into the ground you realize he means to bring some great and terrible weapon down and sunder the ground beneath you.

Given what Sjet knows of sorcery, what would be faster, trying to distort the spell or just cast Obsidian Butterflies?

 

[Random Word]

Either one would be a heroic feat in a single roll, but both could work!

 

[Sherwood]

Can I apply Excellency dice to a Shape Sorcery action?

 

[Random Word]

You definitely can! It's an ordinary Int + Occult roll in all respects. There's also that Occult Charm that grants a success on all Occult rolls for the scene, and that applies to Shape Sorcery as well.

 

[Sherwood]

You definitely can! It's an ordinary Int + Occult roll in all respects. There's also that Occult Charm that grants a success on all Occult rolls for the scene, and that applies to Shape Sorcery as well.

I'll have to get that Charm, then. It is right up my ally. Ok, IC post is coming up.

 

[Random Word]

Gong for a full Excellency, along with my stunt and the bonus motes I get from being in stealth/shadow I should be able too fire this off in one roll.

Just barely made it. 8 succeeded rolled, 5 from being in shade and cover, one from the hearthstone, and one from my Willpower for all fifteen needed.

I'll grant you the Hearthstone, though technically it needs to be socketed into an artifact you don't have yet to work, and I'll even grant you your shaping ritual for starting the scene in shadow, but it only grants 3 sm for the scene, not 5, according to your sheet! It grants an additional sm on a shape roll, but only if you're in stealth and the target is unaware of you, and you haven't attempted to establish stealth here.

Let me know if I've missed anything.

You can assign yourself stunts. 1 Major/scene, 2 Defining/story.

 

[Sherwood]

Damn. Ok I'll keep building up for the next round.

 

[Equusheart]

*watches from the sidelines while getting my character together*

 

[Random Word]

Equusheart once you're done I'll likely introduce you and Tachyon in the same scene. Is there anything we can do to help you?

 

[Random Word]

3 successes

That's a success! Roll JB. Crocodile you're also welcome to roll JB when you have a moment.

 

[Psychie]

Awesome! Here it comes.

 

[Equusheart]

Equusheart once you're done I'll likely introduce you and Tachyon in the same scene. Is there anything we can do to help you?

Currently I'm just trying to get off work so I can get to working on my character.

 

[Random Word]

Okay, I don't think I can help with that

 

[Sherwood]

Currently I'm just trying to get off work so I can get to working on my character.

Work screws everything up.

 

[Psychie]

Work screws everything up.

Preach to the masses, brother!

 

[Equusheart]

Work screws everything up.

Indeed it does. I have mobile on my phone, but they had me busy today.

 

[Equusheart]

Okay, I don't think I can help with that

Unfortunately