Project Update #62: Five Charms Are The Time

[SamuraiMujuru]

Here's a look at how the EX3 text is progressing: From Holden: "Craft Charms are grinding along to completion (complex set!). Antagonist drafts are being combined and collated into their final publication form-- currently going over the Exalts section with a fine-toothed comb, and enjoying the mock-up Liminal Charms. We've also done a revised wordcount estimate for Arms of the Chosen this week and are considering writers for various assignments on that book, as well as revisions to the product lineup for the next three years now that we have a fresh view of the game from (nearly) the end of the corebook." Also, down below Holden reveals an excerpt from the Solar Charms.
And from John: "We are getting close to the finish line. Once Craft is finished, the entire first draft of the Solar Charm set will be complete, and the playtest will be moving toward its final conclusion. Meanwhile, writing and development on Arms of the Chosen has begun. In addition, I just want to mention these three future Exigents, each a completely different Exalted with completely different powers and purviews, but each a champion of western gods. First we have Willow Specter, Chosen of the Dice, an Exalted chosen by Plentimon for his gambling prowess. Next is the Lady of Blood and Breakers, a battle-priestess of Siakal who was saved from a watery grave and repurposed to hunt the Mother of Slaughter’s enemies. Last but not least is the yet-unnamed champion of Hamoji, a volcanic Exigent who uses Essence and Pressure to fuel his Charms, increasing their effectiveness as his spiritual energies build toward an eruption. We’re getting close to the end. There will be more to come as development continues."
The EX3 Novels remain in the pitch/outline phases, and the EX3 Comic PDF link was sent out to backers and now the PDF and physical copy PoD versions are on sale at DTRPG.com. Composer James Semple (he created the music we used in the KS video) is composing for the EX3 Music Suites. He has been bogged down on a couple of other projects but promises to get back to his EX3 work very soon. Writing is being done on the EX3 Quickstart.
Finally, here is a link to our RedBubble T-Shirt site where we have placed four EX3 t-shirts (3 featuring the characters from the EX3comic cover, and one of Novia) on a special discount as a small way to show our appreciation for your support:http://www.redbubble.com/people/theonyxpath
Sorry, we can't just make them free or do the discount in a different way because of the way RedBubble is set up, but for the next 72 hours these shirts will be priced at the cost RB charges to make the shirts. Thanks!
The following Solar Charm previews reflect a work in progress (specifically, they’re being playtested right now) and may change before the book’s final release.

All-Seeing Master Procurer

Cost: 5m; Mins: Bureaucracy 4, Essence 1; Type: ReflexiveKeywords: None
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: Consumer-Evaluating Glance
Through use of this Charm the Solar broadcasts her ability to evaluate and fence any good, and to estimate the viability of any good or service in any market. This Charm makes characters naturally assume the Solar is a master merchant, someone who should be approached in order to receive the best deal or gain information about any certain product. This Charm does not confer knowledge of any good the Solar is unfamiliar with, but it does allow her to reflexively employ Insightful Buyer Technique for one mote, in order to speculate on the value of goods in local or foreign markets, even those that may not even be physically present.
Subject-Hailing Ideology

Cost: 5m; Mins: Bureaucracy 5, Essence 4; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Eclectic Verbiage of Law
The Lawgiver gains power through knowledge of the roles and identities of others. This Charm supplements any social influence that appeals to an Intimacy the Solar is aware of, at a former intensity, so long as the social influence is intended to make the subject act in some official capacity. For example, the Lawgiver could attempt to persuade her bodyguard-turned-assassin to put down his weapon, invoking an Intimacy of loyalty he once held but holds no longer. She could convince an ex-spouse to act in some capacity as if they were still married. She could even make a once-loyal member of her organization remember his role and even make him wish to return to his former position. However, she could not use this Charm to convince two enemies who have become lovers to remember their hate for one another. The Charm only functions if there is some relevant official capacity being invoked. Thus the subject is hailed into a former role.
Clever Bandit’s Rook

Cost: 2m; Mins: Larceny 3, Essence 1; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Seasoned Criminal Method
A master of the sublime, the Lawgiver hooks a mark with her charisma and genuine seeming. When used, this Charm supplements an instill action to make a person believe an object or structure belongs to the Exalt. This Charm cannot force an assertion on someone that directly contradicts what they know. However, a character who does not know the truth cannot benefit from any Intimacies that would bolster their Resolve against the attempt. A character may not spend Willpower to contradict this belief unless they see direct evidence to the contrary.
Penumbra Self Meditation

Cost: 3m per Intimacy; Mins: Socialize 5, Essence 2; Type:Simple
Keywords: Stackable
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Guarded Thoughts Meditation
Through concentration and practice, the Solar sheds a piece of her soul into the lightless blaze of her anima, dimming it. From that point onward, no read intentions action can uncover it. The Solar must meditate for an hour in order to bury a single Intimacy in this fashion. The Solar may eclipse as many Intimacies as she can afford to hide. Note that this Charm does not make it impossible to notice a Solar’s overt tendencies—her Intimacies can still be revealed through her own actions.
Angle-Tracing Edge

Cost: 3m; Mins: Thrown 5, Essence 2; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Uniform
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Observer-Deceiving Attack
The Solar perceives the angle of her enemy’s attacks as broken arcs of faintly glowing Essence, and uses them to guide her own. Through the use of this Charm, the Exalt completely removes all cover benefits from a target, banking her weapon off of walls and other solid surfaces to make near-impossible attacks. If Angle-Tracing Edge is used against a target in full cover, unless deemed completely impossible by the Storyteller, her attack finds its mark, but is made as if she had attacked from long distance.

[RedSypher]

*tastes charms* I LIKE IT.

[Jorlem]

A question occurred to me while reading Subject-Hailing Ideology: Is there a way to determine if a character used to have an Intimacy? That is, for the example regarding the bodyguard turned assassin, what if the NPC had infiltrated the guard with the intent of assassinating the target, and thus never had the Intimacy of loyalty that the Solar is trying to appeal to? Is there a way to check if the assassin really used to be loyal?

[Tiresias]

My dick is now diamonds.

All-Seeing Master Procurer

This is like a gigantic plot magnet. You can use it to get a meeting with someone who doesn't know you (smart people tend to be picky with their fixers), hook a mark or make a quick buck by offering your services as a proxy for certain deals. It's a great charm to set up a broader action.

Subject-Hailing Ideology

That one's a classic. You need someone to do something they don't want to do anymore? Hook them with memories of the good old days.

Clever Bandit's Rook

Another great classic. "I'm looking for a buyer for the Imperial Manse."

Penumbra Self Meditation

Very interesting. I expected to see this sort of effect in Integrity. It makes things harder for anyone trying to get their hooks into you, but it's not perfect. Seems highly appropriate for an Essence 2 charm.

Angle-Tracing Edge

Not much to say on this one. It's a Thrown charm that does what you'd expect from Thrown.

[JimB]

The Charms are fine and all, but after reading the first couple of lines of the post, I'm bummed out they're Solar Charms and not mock-up Liminal Charms. Oh well, just be patient, I'll find out about the Frankenzalted soon enough.

[CycloneJoker]

I'm loving the new version of Angle-Tracing Edge. Over the rocks, across the river, through the trees, nothing but Wyld Mutant. I don't really have too much to comment on the new social charms yet. I love All-Seeing Master Procurer, but the others rely on Intimacies and thus I cannot really guess how useful they are since we haven't been told what leveraging an Intimacy gets you. We HAVE however been assured that it's significant, though, so I've at least got hopes!

[Mobius]

I like the mention of Pressure; I feel like Exalted could benefit from more and alternative resources. While every nWoD splat has an energy meter, how they're gained and spent varies dramatically, often really underscoring relevant themes. Mote pools functioning and recovering mostly identically feels bland in comparison.

[semicasual]

Ooh, these are interesting. There's a few things implied by these charms:
1. There is a way to learn what a person's intimacies are by studying them, and this knowledge can be helpful in making social attacks.
2. Trees that aren't Presence or Socialize get social charms.
3. You can use charms to make people believe in simple lies.

The one I'm most curious about is All-Seeing Master Procurer. Does it work on people who know you're not a merchant? Does the Bureaucracy skill tie into haggling? What would you use this for besides convincing people that you're a qualified professional merchant? How would someone resist this effect if they wanted to? And, most importantly, could you still fake being a Master Procurer without using this charm?

Also, I forsee a lot of fun involving Clever Bandit's Rook.
Guard: "Do these jewels belong to you?"
Night Caste: "Yes."
Guard: "You were bringing them out of that house."
Night Caste: "It's my house."
Guard: "Then why were you going out through the window?"
Night Caste: "The front door is stuck."

[Aranis]

Not much to say on this one. It's a Thrown charm that does what you'd expect from Thrown.

Observe that it says "long distance." Does that mean that attack distance is now abstracted? (I sure hope so.)

[Lioness]

Observe that it says "long distance." Does that mean that attack distance is now abstracted? (I sure hope so.)

Indeed it is.

[CycloneJoker]

Observe that it says "long distance." Does that mean that attack distance is now abstracted? (I sure hope so.)

We've known that combat range is now abstract range bands for a while now, actually. ^_^

I missed that mention of Pressure. I wonder if that's a unique thing to that Exigent, or if it's a more universal mechanic. ...Could it be the actual name of Momentum?

[Tiresias]

A question occurred to me while reading Subject-Hailing Ideology: Is there a way to determine if a character used to have an Intimacy? That is, for the example regarding the bodyguard turned assassin, what if the NPC had infiltrated the guard with the intent of assassinating the target, and thus never had the Intimacy of loyalty that the Solar is trying to appeal to? Is there a way to check if the assassin really used to be loyal?

You can ask them and use other charms to tell if they're lying. In the overwhelming majority of cases, it shouldn't really matter anyway. You should be able to just assume that if someone had a position, they held an appropriate intimacy for it. Exceptions should only be used in rare and dramatic instances.

[ParanoiaCombo]

A question occurred to me while reading Subject-Hailing Ideology: Is there a way to determine if a character used to have an Intimacy? That is, for the example regarding the bodyguard turned assassin, what if the NPC had infiltrated the guard with the intent of assassinating the target, and thus never had the Intimacy of loyalty that the Solar is trying to appeal to? Is there a way to check if the assassin really used to be loyal?

One of the basic functions of the new Social System is not just manipulating intimacies, but the discovery of them and/or your ability to obscure them. So this would be something you could model using the new system.

[kongurous]

We've known that combat range is now abstract range bands for a while now, actually. ^_^

I missed that mention of Pressure. I wonder if that's a unique thing to that Exigent, or if it's a more universal mechanic. ...Could it be the actual name of Momentum?

If Pressure was the real name of momentum, it would mean Hamoji's Chosen would work like everyone else, which is not what I was going for when I proposed it.

[CycloneJoker]

If Pressure was the real name of momentum, it would mean Hamoji's Chosen would work like everyone else, which is not what I was going for when I proposed it.

Fair enough that it's not Momentum then, but otherwise that statement doesn't entirely follow. If Pressure WERE Momentum, surely there's any of a thousand other ways Hamoji's Chosen could be made distinctive? Moot point though, in any case.