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[Sunder the Gold]

I think Robert and the others will manage to achieve all of those objectives. Solar Exalted are already "monster/antagonist scary enough to challenge a Wyld Hunt", and they can't all shapeshift into werewolves and bears and elephants and birds and rats.

One other thing occurs to me: Having the Solar Exalted come before the Dragon-Blooded also makes it possible to cast the Lunar Exalted as something other than Anathema. Which would be HARDER to do for them than Solars despite them not being QUITE as cheap, because the Lunar Exalted seem much more monstrous by nature and because...

[Sunder the Gold]

Yeah, that's sadly one of the reasons why the Solar Exalted have to be the Corebook splat instead of the second one.

Because if the Solars were anyone but the first Exalted out of the gate, they would seem INCREDIBLY cheap. Player resentment for that, and player sentimentality for the Dragon-Blooded as the first and most defining Exalted of the game, would basically doom any effort to persuade people to see Solars as anything but Anathema.

To cast Solars as returning kings and queens trying to reclaim their unjustly stolen thrones and avenge their treacherous murders,...

[Sunder the Gold]

I wonder if there's place in Awareness for night vision and thermal vision as a Fire-aspected Charm? Maybe also allow it to protect against blinding light, so Dragon-Blooded have an answer to their own Blinding Spark Distraction.

I feel there's room in Brawl for sand-bending Charms similar to the water-bending ones, so that you can get your "Gaara of the Desert" on. Robert Vance didn't seem to think it was as simple as upgrade Charms that let you use the water-ones with sand and Earth Aura.

Elemental Sheath for Archery. Probably do something very different for...

[Sunder the Gold]

I see what you were saying about adapting Petal-Strewn Pavane.

With Terrestrial lower dice pools, it doesn’t supplement Effortlessly Rising Flame or Threshold Warding Stance. It competes with them as a dice-adding alternative to their success-adding, as well as offering an alternative secondary bonus to movement actions.

That’s neat.

An attack variant could theoretically compete with their attack dice-adders by adding successes, but that doesn’t feel right for mixing dance with attack. If anything, it would be wilder rather than more certain.
...

[Sunder the Gold]

Speaking of Lunar design, how much will their Excellencies look like Terrestrial ones?

Stamina will add to Soak, so it would make sense to add points and successes for 2m each instead of dice.

[Sunder the Gold]

Abyssal Exalted can walk in and out if the Underworld as easily as anyone else, and anyone else can walk in and out as easily as Abyssals... barring Abyssal Charms or powerful Necromancy.

Lunars don’t need anything more than to walk into whatever Shadowland the Abyssals are presumably using.

If the Abyssals are using a Charm or Spell, then it can probably transport passengers. They might be able to help the Lunars as means to construct a sorcerous portal, assuming the Abyssal necromancer doesn’t build such a portal....

[Sunder the Gold]

Why is it so important for beginning characters to maintain an Air Aura for multiple turns, anyway?

There aren’t many Charms that require an Air Aura to keep working, and all of the ones that do are Essence 3+.

Further, the Charms that have durations of “Air Aura” are usually the kind of Charms you can use while fighting at range with Air Thrown and Air Archery, and protecting yourself with Balanced Charms.

Air Aspects have “Monkey Leap Technique+” as an anima power, which helps them leap atop high walls and roofs where their enemies can’t easily...

[Sunder the Gold]

Anyway, I don’t think Luna sealed anything dangerous away at the Lunar version of Feng-Yi.

Presumably, the Lunar Exalted need the five shrines to perform their own pilgrimage, being constantly tested and found worthy of receiving some kind of blessing worth the trouble. Something as important to a Lunar as “my child will Exalt” is to a Terrestrial.

Fighting Lashe the Morningstar doesn’t fit. He’s an end-game raid boss for an entire party, while the pilgrimage is private and personal and undertaken individually. Even if there are many other pilgrims moving with...

[Sunder the Gold]

Virtuous Negation Defense actually puts a Dragon-Blooded into danger rather than helping them avoid it.

Which means Wood is in much the same boat that Air is, which only makes sense when both of them count ranged attack Abilities as Aspect Abilities; and Air further has access to Lore's elemental projectiles and potentially also sorcerous spells. The primary defense of Wood and Air Essence is distance from the things which would hurt the Princes of the Earth. Wood additionally has the advantage of riding horses to maintain distance, and Air has Stealth.

While only one...

[Sunder the Gold]

Since Respect-Commanding Performance and Solar Battle Anthem are so powerful, and because Solar Exalted aren't as good at turning non-combat Abilities towards combat, I think it's fine to have Battle-Dancer Method serve as the gateway to all other Solar battle-dance Charm, rather than have those others be just as accessible.

BDM is the only one they can use while playing the Battle Anthem, after all. None of the others would be compatible, not even the one to flurry a Full Defense action.

The Full Defense and Defend Other Charms could be combined into one, if necessary....

[Sunder the Gold]

Good catch.



Good point.

However, it seems that Dragon-Blooded have many more means for shedding levels of anima banner than Solar Exalted do, which better allows them to step down from bonfire more often and more easily. That reduces the liability.



I'm not sure what you mean by "Air".

Air Aspect Dragon-Blooded are just as capable of learning Melee Charms as Fire Aspects, especially now that Dragon-Blooded get an additional two Favored Abilities. Since none of the most common Melee Charms require Air Auras,...

[Sunder the Gold]

I'm looking forward to Strength Charms that let you grow into a massive giant, assume the form of giant animals, and in general allow you to be so big that they might as well advance into Charms which allow you to perform naval strategic actions... by yourself, without a ship.

[Sunder the Gold]

Robert makes it clear that, even considering how much stronger Solars are than Terrestrials, Solar Battle Anthem is simply too strong to loose its restrictions. No dance-battling with that one, except to use Battle-Dancer Method to survive.

But for a Solar not committed to using Solar Battle Anthem, a Charm like Petal-Strewn Pavane is okay. As long as it's not as thoughtless as "PSP, but stronger".


Robert also clarifies that the Charm-born performances of Dragon-Blooded Performance Charms are not social influence actions; they are not effects dependent...

[Sunder the Gold]

But... the basic ideas still fit, even if Terrestrial Battle-Dancer Method has to be more interesting than “like the Solar Charm, but weaker”.

Like, it might need to incorporate specialties, or add a non-Charm die, or Aura-requiring effects, or use a non-Wood element. Definitely it needs to consider the starting Essence minimum difference.

It could possibly be more tied to a “Dancing Defense Other (Tango/Waltz)” Charm than would be the Solar equivalent.



Okay, I see the distinction now. I forgot that these effects don’t depend on a...

[Sunder the Gold]

It helps that Dragon-Blooded seem to have many more ways to shed levels of anima banner than do Solars....

[Sunder the Gold]

Things like command actions or social influence actions? So riding a spirit is really good for a mounted commander or heckler?


I do not understand. Does “porting” mean to make no adaptations?

Solars don’t have Wood Auras, so a “port” wouldn’t work.



The dancing attack Charm is the one that might have the most restrictions of the combat-dance Charms, yes.


Since social influence actions aren’t normally Miscellaneous actions, this is specifically meant to limit the Dragon-Blood’s freedom to maintain a...

[Sunder the Gold]

Sorry, had to pull my initial response from the previous post, since I misread the rule.

Respect-Commanding Performance
"This Charm does not function after combat has started, but if activated beforehand, it remains active after Join Battle has been rolled, up until the Solar is forced to stop her performance."

Battle Anthem of the Solar Exalted
"While playing this song in combat" (emphasis mine)


If a Solar starts up her Battle Anthem, then Join Battle must be rolled before the Solar takes the turn in which she begins...

[Sunder the Gold]

Robert confirms that dance-based Performance actions are still just as valid to be placed in a flurry with Full Defense actions as any other social influence action, even without using a Shield-tagged weapon.


And, as evidence to support the claim that social influence actions are not Miscellaneous actions:

On page 196, Miscellaneous actions are explicitly defined as a combat action for taking "some non-combat action". (emphasis mine)

The list of combat actions on page 195 of the corebook does not include movement actions, yet movement actions...

[Sunder the Gold]

Wizard asked Robert what he intended.

Robert confirmed that Elemental Sheath/Dragon-Graced Weapon and the five-fold, unkeyworded Resistance Charms all effectively have the elemental keyword appropriate to the element you invoke/use.

Also that EBA indeed has the aspect of the element you throw at people....

[Sunder the Gold]

The flavor text is misleading, then, or the crunchy text isn't clear enough.

Would the Charm let you poison arrowheads?


A different Performance Charm question for now:

All Terrestrial Performance Charms that have a duration of One Performance/Song repeat this line: "The Dragon-Blood can take other actions while continuing the performance by flurrying them with a miscellaneous action to continue performing."

It's not entirely clear if this means the Dragon-Blood can only flurry the Performance action with Miscellaneous actions,...