Ask the Devs v2

[Organ Boy]

Hi there, been a while. I'm just wondering, Inviolable Essence-Merging is listed as an E4 Integrity charm and my group's having trouble conceiving what would be valid upgrades for it at E5. What kind of effects would extend from it?

[Robert Vance]

Hi there, been a while. I'm just wondering, Inviolable Essence-Merging is listed as an E4 Integrity charm and my group's having trouble conceiving what would be valid upgrades for it at E5. What kind of effects would extend from it?

Off the top of my head, I've got nothing - it's very clearly a "capstone" effect meant to be the conclusion of its tree, and while that doesn't mean you can't write follow-up Charms that upgrade it or just use it as a prerequisite, it does make it tricky to come up with good concepts. Not every Essence 4 Charm necessarily has to have stuff following it up at Essence 5, though, so that's okay.

[Robert Vance]

I'm having a bit of trouble conceptualizing the usage and limitations of God-Heeling Gesture. Does the phenomena in question have to be directly caused by a god's power, or does it only need to fall under their purview? How would it work in these examples below:

1. If a bird dies in a snowstorm, can GHG only revive it if some god used their powers to create the storm? Or can it be revived even from some random act of nature?
2. If a well goes dry, can it be restored no matter the cause? Or only if a god placed a curse on it or something similar?
3. Can it cure sickness caused by tainted food/water, poor hygiene, etc. or only sickness spread by a disease god?

Great question, difficult to answer because the Charm's very vaguely worded and the commentary sidebar is not very helpful. When it says it can reverse "a lesser miracle," I interpret that as meaning "any spirit Charm that is not a greater miracle, as defined in the 'On Divine Mantle' sidebar on page 311 of the core." So, long story short, it can't reverse things not directly caused by a spirit using its Charms.

[Robert Vance]

How familiar do you have to be with someone to target them with Wind-Carried Words Technique?

You need to have a concrete idea of the person you're sending it to; you can't just send it to "the satrap of Melancholy, whoever that may be," or "the nearest drug dealer." You don't need to have met them in person.

And which of the above would be required to duplicate Flesh-Sealing Flame Technique’s “heal a battle group” function which was basically the original question?

Solars don't have a published Charm that replicates that function.

[Sith_Happens]

You need to have a concrete idea of the person you're sending it to; you can't just send it to "the satrap of Melancholy, whoever that may be," or "the nearest drug dealer." You don't need to have met them in person.

What about “My friend’s only child that we just learned he had?” Do you necessarily need a name and/or face and if not what’s “concrete” enough to make up for having neither?

And does the same go for Infallible Messenger?

[autXautY]

How do abilities like infallible messenger or wind-carried words deal with disguises?
If you've met multiple people using the same identity and not realized this, and send an infallible messenger to that identity, who gets the messenger? Can solar larceny disguise charms, lunar shapeshifting, or sidereal resplendent destinies trick an infallible messenger to talk to you, or avoid one that's sent to your actual identity?

[prototype00]

A couple of Lunar Shapeshifting related questions:

1. If wearing Moonsilver Armor, a lunar *can* keep it when Shapeshifting. However can it also be sent away as with all other equipment, for sneaky shenanigans as a mouse, say?

2. If 1 can be done, what action is required to get the armor back in an emergency? Do you have to revert to your human form to get the Moonsilver Armor back or does shifting into any other form get you the armor? Or do you even need to shift at all?

Thanks for the answers!

[Robert Vance]

A couple of Lunar Shapeshifting related questions:

1. If wearing Moonsilver Armor, a lunar *can* keep it when Shapeshifting. However can it also be sent away as with all other equipment, for sneaky shenanigans as a mouse, say?

Yes, keeping it is optional, as of the final manuscript.

2. If 1 can be done, what action is required to get the armor back in an emergency? Do you have to revert to your human form to get the Moonsilver Armor back or does shifting into any other form get you the armor? Or do you even need to shift at all?

As written, there isn't any existing way to get it back other than just shapeshifting to another shape and then back.

[Robert Vance]

How do abilities like infallible messenger or wind-carried words deal with disguises?
If you've met multiple people using the same identity and not realized this, and send an infallible messenger to that identity, who gets the messenger? Can solar larceny disguise charms, lunar shapeshifting, or sidereal resplendent destinies trick an infallible messenger to talk to you, or avoid one that's sent to your actual identity?

Fooling an Infallible Messenger requires specialized magic like Fickle Lady's Shifting Star, not just standard disguise Charms.

[Robert Vance]

What about “My friend’s only child that we just learned he had?” Do you necessarily need a name and/or face and if not what’s “concrete” enough to make up for having neither?

And does the same go for Infallible Messenger?

Using Wind-Carried Words to send messages to babies is probably a fruitless endeavor. :P

That said, you don't necessarily need a name and a face, as long as you have a concrete idea of who you're sending the message to. If it's unclear whether you have one, the Storyteller can make the call. The above applies to Infallible Messenger as well.

[autXautY]

Fooling an Infallible Messenger requires specialized magic like Fickle Lady's Shifting Star, not just standard disguise Charms.

What about situations where you're fooling the person more than the messenger? If I think I've met The Scarlet Empress, but I've actually only met a Solar disguised as The Scarlet Empress, and I send an infallible messenger directed at "The Scarlet Empress" does it go to the actual Scarlet Empress, to the Solar who I think is The Scarlet Empress, or fail entirely? What if I've met both of them, but contextually it's more like I'm trying to talk to the Solar (say, I'm trying to follow up on a conversation I had with the disguised Solar, and the actual Scarlet Empress would be horribly confused why someone she met once 8 years ago is trying to contact her about a conversation they never had)

[Epee102]

How is Ys pronounced?

[Sith_Happens]

Using Wind-Carried Words to send messages to babies is probably a fruitless endeavor. :P

And if I meant an old enough child that it isn’t?

[prototype00]

Yes, keeping it is optional, as of the final manuscript.


As written, there isn't any existing way to get it back other than just shapeshifting to another shape and then back.

Excellent, thank you!

So just to confirm my understanding, the way to get Moonsilver Armor back when you sent it away while Shapeshifting is to: Shift into any other shape?

[Robert Vance]

Excellent, thank you!

So just to confirm my understanding, the way to get Moonsilver Armor back when you sent it away while Shapeshifting is to: Shift into any other shape?

Correct, unless your Storyteller's willing to cut you some slack.