Ask the Devs

[SoulGambit]

You wrote Mantis Style so that it can combine with Black Claw to create a fighting style remminiscent of the Mantis' mating habits.

I see what you did there.

[Sith_Happens]

There's a sidebar in The Realm addressing the exact issue.

Any chance of that making it into a preview at some point?

[OpMegs]

Rereading the DB preview, I'm kind of curious about a bit that came up regarding some options that seem to be in direct conflict regarding the Tepet/Cathak dynamic.

So, from Cathak's alliances/enemies writeup, we have this.

The Cathaks view House Tepet as a tragic house, fallen but still struggling in a poetic way. But practicality outweighs sentiment, and Tepet’s political position is dangerous, so Cathak waits and watches, ready to extend the hand of friendship if the smaller house can ever regain lost ground.

But from Tepet's side of things, we have this:

House Cathak and House Tepet shared mutual respect based on military might, but this ended when the Cathak legions failed to march to House Tepet’s aid against the Bull once the true danger of the Anathema’s forces was revealed. House Sesus’ scheming was expected, but for Cathak to prove honorless was a much more profound betrayal. House Cathak has refused all overtures of alliance from the Tepets and has blocked all efforts to rebuild Tepet’s military forces. If a Tepet were to make a bid for the throne backed by house legions, Cathak would be the first to move against them.

Then you have Cathak Cainan himself, who's described as incredibly honorable and despising of under the table dealings, to the point of removing scions of his House that he catches out in them. While he's not faultless, with mentions of securing his House's position in case of civil war, and basically not giving a second thought about the Satrapies' opinions (and being fond of violent examples against rebel provinces), this doesn't seem to indicate that he'd be the type to hang Tepet out to dry at Futile Blood, given that his writeup explicitly states he values duty to the Dynasty over personal or House concerns to be one of his biggest things (though interestingly, it's not in his intimacies anywhere).

So how exactly does this all work? Was Cainan out of the loop regarding Tepet's reinforcements and some scion now has to explain to him why they were willing to let one of Cathak's most respected fellow Houses be decimated via betrayal? Did Cainan order it himself because he thinks Tepet's a threat to Cathak itself and shouldn't be let anywhere near the throne? It's one of the things where I'm not sure which way it's supposed to fall on the ambiguity.

[ReshyShira]

Hey, how does Lunar shapeshifting work exactly? It mentions in the CRB that they get special attacks and merits (So long as they're not magical in nature?), but how does it handle boxes, natural weapons, innate soak/hardness, initial attributes, etc.

[Sith_Happens]

1. It's explained what happens if you create the Talisman of Ten Thousand Eyes during play, but what if you find it during play?

2. Do you have any advice about when to give an Evocation an "Awakens for free if..." clause?

[realitycheque]

Someone hit with Fiery Blade Attack is engulfed in a bonfire until they disengage... do the people engulfed know that disengaging will end the effect, if they've never encountered it before? Is it obviously attached to the location, rather than the character?

Figure I should make certain of this *before* I set my players on fire...

[Greyman]

opps, ask the dev thread.

[Snakesandsuns]

Virtuous Guardian of Flame states it can be used offensively in the control spell section: is some other value used for strength? Does the caster actually hold it like a weapon? What traits does Virtuous Guardian of Flame have? Is it a artifact sword? Is it any type of sword of the summoners choosing?

[TLM3101]

So... kind of weird question, but. I'm assuming that Immaculate monks are still expected to be celibate ( given Cynis Cogen's writeup and whatnot ), but what would be the penalty for a monk that failed to live up to that prohibition? And are there any sects or splinters of the Faith, heretical or otherwise, that are more... lax about that kind of thing?

[Eric Minton]

So... kind of weird question, but. I'm assuming that Immaculate monks are still expected to be celibate ( given Cynis Cogen's writeup and whatnot ), but what would be the penalty for a monk that failed to live up to that prohibition?

The penalty for violating the vow of celibacy is expulsion from the Immaculate Order.

And are there any sects or splinters of the Faith, heretical or otherwise, that are more... lax about that kind of thing?

It's certainly possible, but we haven't written any.

[glamourweaver]

Are Lookshy Sōhei celibate?

[TGUEIROS]

The penalty for violating the vow of celibacy is expulsion from the Immaculate Order.

And what does that entail for that ex-monk in Realm society in general?

Are they now pariah, exiled from the Realm?

What happens so that is not the easy way out of the Coin's 50 year service for Outcastes?

Choose the Razor, have an orgy after graduation, and then I'm free to do what I want? Seems not plausible.

[savagejoss]

Where is Makelo/the island of Sinti located? Is it near the archipelagos or is it closer to the Southwest?

[Eric Minton]

And what does that entail for that ex-monk in Realm society in general?

Are they now pariah, exiled from the Realm?

The Realm covers this.

What happens so that is not the easy way out of the Coin's 50 year service for Outcastes?

Choose the Razor, have an orgy after graduation, and then I'm free to do what I want? Seems not plausible.

That's a matter of Realm law, not Order policy.

[SoulGambit]

If you perform an Ambush using Birdsong Over Blades, and no one notices the attack, does that mean you can keep making Ambushes?