Ask the Devs

[autXautY]

I am very excited about witch-beast ascendancy, and this inspires questions:
Does the sorcery pool get used for all sorcery related rolls, or just shape sorcery? (eg. attacking with Death of Obsidian Butterflies, Binding Demons, etc)
If a spell refers to an attribute or ability, what does the familiar use? (Difficulty of Thunder Wolf's Howl)
If a spell gives a weapon, can a familiar attack with it, and with what stats? (Blood Lash, Wood Dragon's Claw)
Does the familiar get a sorcerous initiation+shaping ritual? Can they get merits from the ritual?
For control spells that give evocations, is there any way for a familiar to buy/use those (maybe they act like magical abilities except with different themes)
Is there any way for familiars to use the bonuses granted to sorcerers with essence pools? (For spells like storm wind rider or invulnerable skin of bronze)
Are any of the distance communication spells useable by animals that can't talk, possibly with a penalty for nonverbal communication? (Infallible Messenger, Spoke the Wooden Face, Silent Words of Dreams and Nightmares)

Separately, is there anything that affects a familiar's lifespan? (Well, anything specific to familiars. Presumably most of the tools for making humans live longer make animals live longer) It feels weird for a millennia old lunar to repeatedly form deep connections with things much shorter lived then them (which I guess applies to humans as well, but there's a large difference between humans and many animals). In particular, I sort of want a butterfly that knows Death of Obsidian Butterflies, but finding and training a new familiar every few months feels ... excessive.

[WillOfTheD]

The Infernals are Chosen from those the world has trampled on, those who have suffered the whims of kings and Heaven, those who have failed by the arbitrary and unfair judgments imposed on them. They're born from the infinite malevolence of the Yozis, their infinite desire to hurt the world, married to the absolute power of stolen Solar Exaltations. When they return to Creation, it's up to them whether they'll come bearing hellfire to burn it all to ashes, or a new apple to offer as they transform it into paradise.

If i recall correctly,in 2e,infernal exaltations involved combining the aspiring infernal with a demon,i'm assuming that is gone this edition?

[Robert Vance]

So I understand that a lot of the “RAWR EVIL CRAZY” stuff from EX2 has been dialed back.

Will this include the Dowager? In EX2, she is the most evil of the Deathlords, and there’s an argument to be made that she’s one of the most vile characters in the entire setting (that isn’t just out of their mind like EX2!Raksi or unable to be nice like the Ebon Dragon). Is the Dowager going to have a deeper characterization than just “omnicidal Granny Goodness who raises orphans in soulsteel houses made of their parents and caused the Great Contagion”?

The Dowager is quite different from past portrayals.

[Voyd211]

So I understand that a lot of the “RAWR EVIL CRAZY” stuff from EX2 has been dialed back.

Will this include the Dowager? In EX2, she is the most evil of the Deathlords, and there’s an argument to be made that she’s one of the most vile characters in the entire setting (that isn’t just out of their mind like EX2!Raksi or unable to be nice like the Ebon Dragon). Is the Dowager going to have a deeper characterization than just “omnicidal Granny Goodness who raises orphans in soulsteel houses made of their parents and caused the Great Contagion”?

[Slarn!]

What sort of stuff would be in the Storyteller's guide?

Also, when exactly are Moonsilver tattoos visible? In all your shapes? If so, can Essential Mirror Nature hide them when your anima is glowing?

[Kelly Pedersen]

Are the Fang Lakes, the large bodies of water between Mela's Fangs in the Northeast, salt water or fresh? Also, is the body of water that Tusk lies on one of the Fang Lakes? The straight between it and the White Sea looks notably larger, to me, than the straight between it and the other water to the northeast, so I'd guess that it would be as salty as the White Sea. But I don't know, maybe there's magic involved! :-)

I think this one got missed, so I'm bumping it once. Thanks in advance!

[Tlalchitonatiuh]

Good morning. I'm sorry if this has been answered, but my searches have not been fruitful, but if a person orders all of the pdfs of the "adversaries of the righteous" and "hundred devils night parade" series' do we then get a discount on the subsequent pod version later?

[wern212]

So, the Wits charms Secure Den Prana, Harmony-With-Reality Technique, and Midnight Guardian Territory (among a few others) all have their listed Duration as Indefinite. I was wondering if this is intentional? For Midnight Guardian Territory, the text seems to imply it's meant to only last one night (though I might be confusing flavor text for rules text there).

If there are intentional: what was the logic behind that? Especially for Secure Den Prana, keeping 5m committed per den seems like it would add up very fast.

[GenericMaleNPC01]

Wood dragon lets you use a bow as a staff for the style yes?
Does this extend to using other staff compatible styles in combination with wood dragon?

[JiveX]

While I don't think any of those exist, the answer is probably yes, in the same way that dodging the undodgeable beats the can't-be dodged.

I meant like stuff that knocks back or allows the character to slam things that can’t be knocked back or down by human scale opponents, like legendary size opponents. Sorry thought that was clear— but poor wording on my part.

Follow up— what about things that produce knockdown by increasing the load on the target (Falling Mountain Fang) seems like that should still work?

[Epee102]

The Infernals are Chosen from those the world has trampled on, those who have suffered the whims of kings and Heaven, those who have failed by the arbitrary and unfair judgments imposed on them. They're born from the infinite malevolence of the Yozis, their infinite desire to hurt the world, married to the absolute power of stolen Solar Exaltations. When they return to Creation, it's up to them whether they'll come bearing hellfire to burn it all to ashes, or a new apple to offer as they transform it into paradise.

Is Solomon David an Infernal?

[GenericMaleNPC01]

It's already factored into their combat movement pool.

So one should add the speed bonus to a new creature that has one then?
Is it only applied to combat movement?

[TheCountAlucard]

I have questions about eye-gouging.

So if you're missing an eye and take the form of an animal with two eyes, you still end up having one eye when you transform into the animal form, I get that.

But what if you have both eyes, and take the form of a one-eyed animal?

What happens if you hunt a Dragon-Blooded, and in the process of fighting him, you accidentally gouge out one of his eyes (i.e., he opts to take a crippling injury to avoid incoming damage, but you ultimately end up killing him and taking his shape)?

[glamourweaver]

The Spoken are extinct by default in the present setting, so they're not a high priority item. We don't currently have any plans for introducing them, although I wouldn't say never.

Is the Niobraran setting book still theoretically on the to-do list, even if well down it?

[The Wizard of Oz]

What about the centaur mutation?

Thanks for all your answers.