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[Dataweaver]

…all of which has very little to do with Kithbooks. Shall we continue this in the Mage forum?

[Dataweaver]

No; as much as I love Awakening — and I do love it — keep it out of Ascension. At least, keep it out as The Fundamental Truth of the setting.

Frankly, Ascension needs to go more agnostic on fundamental truths rather than enshrining more things as such: my preference for M5 would be for it to explicitly present the “Reality is subjective and mages alter it through acts of Enlightened Will” as Tradition talking points rather than as The Ultimate Truth: the Traditions wholeheartedly believe it to be the Ultimate Truth; and the way it was presented as such in the earlier editions of...

[Dataweaver]

As well, Archmages and sorcerers aren't getting much coverage because there's comparatively low demand for them: I for one am far more interested in M20 supplements for the Traditions and Disparates before seeing M20 updates for sorcerers and Archmages: finish covering the basics before you address fringe issues.

[Dataweaver]

Admittedly, Scion 2e is better equipped to handle monotheism than 1e was. 1e didn't have Primordials or Chosen Scions, two concepts that are essential to monotheistic factions in 2e, the first allowing a Pantheon to have a “Highest God” and the second allowing it to have Scions who aren't literal children of the gods.

[Dataweaver]

I'd like a series of smaller books — averaging, say, 32 pages or less — dedicated to M20's Foci (I'm sorry; but sometimes you just can't get away from the plural of the word). Each one would be centered on one Practice.

It would start with a chapter on Theory, which would discuss the three or four most relevant Paradigms in terms of how they relate to the book's Practice; then a chapter on the Practice itself, which would discuss the Abilities, Instruments, and Spheres as they relate to the Practice along with a selection of Rotes that don't just specify what Spheres you need...

[Dataweaver]

It's First Edition; but yeah.

Also, I have a hack for Alchemists (see my sig).

And Hunter's Endowments are a great source for mortal magic. Benedictions give you modern-day clerical magic; Castigations are all about dealing with demons; the Les Mysteres Conspiracy has an Endowment centered around letting yourself be empowered by spirits; and so on.

[Dataweaver]

Well, Night Horrors: the Tormented is out. The Petrificati do indeed come close in terms of what I envision a Homunculus looking like, albeit coming from a different angle (instead of a not-quite-Promethean whose Azoth hasn't properly ignited and is basically running on embers, a Petrificatus is a failed Promethean whose Azoth has guttered out and is basically running on embers); a clone, not so much.

In particular, creating a clone is rougher on a Promethean than how I've been envisioning the creation of a Homunculus: you need to maim the Promethean in the process of extracting...

[Dataweaver]

Oh; did I mention that I loved the examples of Mystery Cults in the book? Well, I did.

[Dataweaver]

I did find it odd how one of the write-ups spoke so casually about word getting around the Promethean community, as if it was a given that news of what happened would spread more or less immediately everywhere. I think it was in the backstory for clones.

[Dataweaver]

Very much so. If the Principle is God (in that It guides Prometheans to a better future, the New Dawn), the Jovian is very much the Devil, existing to thwart the Principle's goals for Prometheans....

[Dataweaver]

So: what time of day is it likely to drop?

[Dataweaver]

A Library Background that gives access to Grimoires (which include Primers and, with this hack, Spellbooks) might have to pay an increased price for the added functionality, especially since a Spellbook lets you perform the rote even before you've expended XP on it. In a way, a Library with Spellbooks in it has value and functionality comparable to Requisitions. It's not quite that good because you still need to acquire and use suitable instruments to perform the rote; but it's even better in that it has potentially massive benefits to the character advancement system: Grimoires lower XP costs...

[Dataweaver]

It seems reasonable, considering what a Jovian Athanor is.

[Dataweaver]

Nitpick: the Technocracy still has to use Quintessence in the manufacture of their Devices; it's just that the Scientists doing the manufacturing don't have to expend personal Quintessence on the process: all of the Quintessence involved gets incorporated directly into the Device — or Gadget, Invention, Matrix, Primer, or Principia (side note: the Union's exemption from needing to expend Willpower and personal Quintessence doesn't extend to Relics, at least not as written; so no mass-produced Enhancements — at least, not yet). It's only because the Union is awash in Quintessence that it can mass-produce...

[Dataweaver]

Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for life. That's the essential difference between a Talisman and an “empowered Spellbook” (I need a better name for the latter): a Talisman only works for one person at a time; take it away from him to give to someone else, and he loses the benefit. The same is true of the Spellbook until adequate studying has been done; but once the student has learned the rote, he can hand it over to another student and continue using the rote in perpetuity.

In terms of game systems, this essentially lets you...

[Dataweaver]

Gears-and-Clockwork works well for the God-Machine's body. With Heaven, we're talking about its mind; so it seems more appropriate to go with more of a computer circuitry motif.

[Dataweaver]

From what I recall, he said that it centers around a Nephandus torturing a victim while explaining to her why his torture is for the greater good. But it's from her perspective, and what you get from her is “it hurts!” And that's the ultimate truth of the scene: for all his reasonings about why what he's doing the right thing in torturing her, he's deliberately causing her to suffer.

[Dataweaver]

I've never seen anything concerning the second interpretation. For the first, the term “Sleeper” refers to the fact that the person's Avatar is Sleeping. The Consensus is formed by the collective influence of everyone's Sleeping Avatars. And in the final 1e book, Ascension's Right Hand, it was suggested that things like Psychic Phenomena, Hedge Magic, and even True Faith might actually be manifestations of a Sleeping Avatar.

[Dataweaver]

That's reasonable.

First, a nitpick: it's “Dataform”, not “Data Form”. When you mentioned it, I Searched every DtD book I have for the latter and couldn't find it; I then manually looked at the Processes in the core book and in Flowers of Hell before I found the former.

Second, I'm going for minimal rule impact here: I'm trying to keep existing functionality unaffected while adding new functionality where appropriate. As well, I'd prefer the default means of a demon entering Heaven to be some sort of projection, where the demon's body stats on Earth and its...

[Dataweaver]

Thanks for pointing those out. Like I said, my familiarity with DtD is somewhat lacking.

Under this system, the Dataform Process is what allows a demon to physically enter Heaven — if he’s in contact with a Terminal when he activates it. This is in addition to its current utility, which works whether or not Infrastructure is involved. I’m figuring that mental projection isn’to Heaven uses a technique similar to how mages enter Astral Space: go to a DemesneTerminal and meditate. When someone loyal to the God-Machine does this, it would be considered a form of prayer — though...