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[espritdecalmar]

Oh, good to know. I like that. Thanks for the clarification....

[espritdecalmar]

Oh, I completely glossed that over. I guess I just assumed it was. I have this faint inkling of Eric Z mentioning rules for Deviants with Soul Shocked somewhere. . . though maybe not. To be honest I probably lean on that Condition a bit too much in my own homebrew. I'll brainstorm an alternative.

Primordial newcomer: First thing that comes to my mind is an infant born with a strange, viscous caul-like organ, which the Mutant can instinctively direct and which produces a number of enzymatic effects. The Deviant's synapses actually extend into a different vibratory frequency of reality,...

[espritdecalmar]

So I wanted to come up with the cheesiest possible build a player might make with this Form to see what exactly is exploitable and whether or not that's a problem.

Let's take an Externalized Self-Made Endomorph who assigns all their starting Touchstones to Loyalty. On top of that, they take Lifeline 4 for two additional Loyalty Touchstones (and a Loyalty Rating of 7). All their starting Variations & Scars are both Subtle and Magnitude 1. They also spend five Merit dots on a dot of Acclimation. The character stashes their shell in a safe place a state over and then hangs out with...

[espritdecalmar]

For that matter, what does it mean to "know" a Rite? I get the mechanical implications and reasonings, but within the game itself, what stops a ritemaster from just consulting the proper etched cylinder during the process? (Second Edition in general seems to vacillate on this point when it comes to ritual magic, when one compares Rites with Ceremonies and Sekhem Sorcery.) The text makes a few references to spiritual connections with Rites, so maybe the process is similar to acquiring Facets: You can't evoke the requisite sincerity for a Rite until you've internalized its symbols in your...

[espritdecalmar]

The idea of manipulating the symbolic laws of the spirit realm is certainly an intriguing one, but I find the rules for designing Rites to be somewhat impenetrable. I can see some of the underlying structures (if it affects the werewolf template itself, it should be a Wolf Rite, for instance), but in other cases, for me it's not fully clear why a certain effect is tied to a certain dot rating (scope and consequences are obviously the primary factors, but how should they ideally scale? Should a Rite only accessible to a single Tribe be more powerful in a more niche sphere?), or why, say, summoning...

[espritdecalmar]

So there's what Satchel mentioned, as well that most Deviants will start play with at least one Conviction Touchstone, which incentivizes action. There's also the matter of whatever Conspiracy that made the Deviant, and so might still be looking for the Remade. Even if they only want the shell back (and this is something I need to put explicitly in the rules for the Form, probably), it's still spiritually linked to that specific character, so they can't just jam someone else in there until the first Deviant is dealt with (and as with a selkie's pelt, getting access to an Externalized's shell gives...

[espritdecalmar]

This is my first draft of a Form meant to represent Deviants who are empowered by something outside themselves. It's meant to cover a diverse set of characters, such as EVA pilots, Samus Aran, and Cait Sith. I still need to think about how it affects Conspiracy surveillance. The general idea is that the Remade has a level of protection and disconnect from both physical danger as well as Scars, but in return their Variations aren't always available to them, and if they're ever caught in a situation where they don't have access to their shell, things could get grim fast.

Externalized...