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Nicolae Carpathia posted:What happened during the first run in at Enoch's Sanctum, incidentally? Can I assume that the other guys filled in Matryoshka about what happened, during the course of researching more about Enoch? I should probably publicize this, so here's the official answer: Enoch's Sanctum Synopsis It was discovered that Enoch retained a private sanctum in the city, and the PCs were sent to take a look. The sanctum was on Manhattan's west edge, beneath a dock - a Prime phantasm of a solid brick wall sealed off a tunnel leading into a small complex that was guarded by strange humanoid monsters sculpted partly of flesh and partly of solid blue light. It turned out that these were Prime constructs conjured by a Seer of the Throne theurgist who had invaded and attempted to overtake the sanctum - he used Enoch's old facilities to create the warriors and then conjured and enslaved ghosts to "pilot" them. Exploring the complex (which was mostly exteremely spartan and bare) the group came upon one room that was lavishly decorated. It was furnished with a bed and sofa, it had bookshelves, a television set, and even a working computer. It also had a resident: "Alice", a young woman who the group found crouched on the bed in fear as a number of the Seer's conjured monsters used their claws to scratch away a magic circle that, apparently, was keeping Alice alive. The group drove the creatures away and repaired and refueled the circle for her, but before they could ask her much they were forced to confront the Seer himself. A pitched battle took the group outside the sanctum and onto the docks, where the weakened Seer was suddenly abducted by the spirit the Emerson Tower scelestus had been using to collect sacrifices. The group found that the Sanctum's entrance had been resealed after their exit, and did not have the strength to attempt re-entry, so they just reported back to base. Later, they watched that Seer's throat slit just before an angel (or "angel") materialized and blasted everything to bits. quote:(Also, since I don't have Prime or Forces, this is a moot question, but if I had taken some of Enoch's rotes, would my Eidetic Memory merit have kept me from the die-roll penalties on remembering our research?) No, because the problem is that you'd literally have been studying rotes rather than listening or reading information. On the other hand, your Eidetic Memory would mean that you wouldn't have to roll at all in instances that the rest of the group would have to.
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Nov 9, 2008 00:26
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Cool, thanks! Sometimes I have so many questions  (I have the second highest postcount in this thread and have only played once...)
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Nov 9, 2008 00:30
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Nicolae Carpathia posted:Cool, thanks! Sometimes I have so many questions Every question you ask in this thread makes happyelf that much angrier that none of his players apparently bother to discuss the game, so by all means.
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Nov 9, 2008 00:31
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Enoch, being an Obrimos, wrote many of his works about the Force and Prime arcana, but he also contributed to shorter treatises about other arcana. While researching some of Enoch's work, Matryoshka came across some of his writings about the Space arcanum. Matryoshka chose to take some time to pick up the Spatial Map rote, realizing how useful it could be in the likely event that he would have to use his gun. * Space 1 - Spatial Map [Occult, C: 5 dice, V: 3 dice] (covert) 2 xp for Spatial Map -1 to die rolls for remembering the research ferrinus said this was okay on IRC
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Nov 9, 2008 00:53
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Do we need to run a short one-person adventure or something if I want to increase my Space arcanum to 4?
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Nov 9, 2008 02:21
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What happened to Alice?
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Nov 9, 2008 02:35
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Dammit Who? posted:Do we need to run a short one-person adventure or something if I want to increase my Space arcanum to 4? Surely you don't have the XP yet... At any rate, probably. I'll tell you straight, raising Arcana (esp. past Disciple level) usually takes significant periods of meditation or study and isn't something you can realistically do in the current time frame, i.e. you have to get moving right now because we can only hold the radiation in for so long etc. etc. Once you guys are in a situation where you have some actual downtime, we'll figure it out. Nicolae Carpathia posted:What happened to Alice? She's still in there as far as anyone knows. You still have no idea what her deal is, although she spoke as though she knew the sanctum's original owner.
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Nov 9, 2008 05:21
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Attn mages! I'd like to play tonight! You guys should start accruing in #PC-OOC if you're available. I'd like to start sometime after 8:30 or 9:00 est.
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Nov 10, 2008 01:44
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Ferrinus posted:Attn mages! I'd like to play tonight! yesssssss ferrinus i totally need to kill a thing tonight i was gonna say "kill a dude" but killing sentients fucks up your wisdom so i'll be okay with killing like rat golems or something
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Nov 10, 2008 01:47
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Incidentally. The following mages were, if I recall correctly, at Ground Zero: Adramel, Arrian, Dasein, Tombheart(  ).They've been cured of radiation poisoning best they can - but they can still feel a slow burn deep in their flesh and bone marrow, and every time they exert their will they can feel the magic crackle and blaze painfully. Even the most basic Mage Sight spell stings to invoke, and when significant amounts of magic are used the pain becomes searing. * Every point of mana spent to cast a spell for any reason adds 1 die to that spell's dicepool. This includes the mana paid to cast a Vulgar spell, mana paid as part of a spell's inherent cost, or even points spent freely by the player for nothing more than a dice bonus. * Every point of mana spent to cast a spell inflicts 1 die of Resistant bashing damage to the caster. Resistant damage cannot be healed by magic. Adramel finds the effect feeding off of his connection to the Aether uncontrollably: He gains 3 dice per mana point, but takes 2 dice of resistant damage. Solomon still feels the occasional twinge but seems otherwise fine.
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Nov 10, 2008 02:36
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Finished exploring Enoch's sanctum! (Almost) +2 XP! 41 XP total. +1 Arcane XP thanks to Arrian's clever deductions about Alice! 23 Arcane XP total. Ferrinus fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Nov 12, 2008 |
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Nov 10, 2008 07:21
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how much arcane XP does it cost to buy from level 3 to 4 in your best arcana i want to buy death 4
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Nov 10, 2008 07:26
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a man of ill repute posted:how much arcane XP does it cost to buy from level 3 to 4 in your best arcana I think the house rules say that Arcane XP is only used for advancing Gnosis. Also that was kind of fun, I am glad I got to do something besides make a few a-little-too-noir quips.
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Nov 10, 2008 07:27
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a man of ill repute posted:how much arcane XP does it cost to buy from level 3 to 4 in your best arcana its 24 regular xp to advance to 4 with favored arcana, but we cant do it yet because we are busy busy busy and going beyond 3 in an arcanum is A Thing
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Nov 10, 2008 07:39
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i am a beautiful and unique snowflake bitchescode:--- Many people have nightmares when they are children, and eventually grow out of them as they mature, losing themselves in the everyday businesses of life rather than lingering on momentary nocturnal hallucinations. With Victor, it seems as though life had played a joke - instead of growing out of nightmares, he grew into them. At the age of twenty, they started - innocuous at first, but steadily increasing in intensity and horrifying detail. "Let go! Not the hands!" he'd cry out in his dorm, much to the chagrin of his normal roommates. When exams rolle d around, he found himself terribly unprepared, and, quite predictibly, failed out. The academic suspension he received did not seem so bad, however - Victor decided to spend the next few months living with his parents and hopefully recover from all the stress. It was a good idea, and the nightmares stopped. For one week and one day. On the ninth day, Victor Eves was again denied his peace. His screams echoed throughout the house, over and over again. When his parents tried to wake him, they found that they couldn't - Victor would sleep in writhing agony for the entire night, until the first ray of the sun brought him temporary reprieve. For one week and one day, the Victor endured, and, just as suddenly as they had started, the torturous visions stopped. On the ninth day, Victor slept like a baby, and the doctor that his parents had arranged to come seem him on the tenth had no explanation for the occurrence, nor its absence. It seemed as though everything had returned to normal - Victor's parents did not worry, and he returned to university with the hopes of carrying on with life just as any other normal human being. *** Each night, Victor dreaded going to sleep. Even when he had moved off campus and the nightmares subsided, he felt worry well up in the pit of his somach as dusk approached. Thankfully, on his first night home, sleep refused to come to him for many hours; when it did, it was mercifully uneventful, and though he woke up just as tired the next morning, he had no complaints. On his second night, Victor managed to get a few more hours, and his face began to once again show colour. On his third night, Victor dreamt in peace, and it seemed as though all was going well. For four more nights, Victor rested, regained his strength, and was returning to his former jubilant self. On the eighth night, Victor dreamt of vivid colours and good fortunes, of graduating with honours and being surrounded by beautiful girls. And on the ninth night, Victor felt a beautiful hand clasp around his. It was so cold. *** The long, icy fingers wrapped around his wrist like a vise, and when Victor looked to see who it was tugging at him, his heart skipped a beat. It was Him. Her. It. But It had never come this far from under the bed! Even as it loomed closer and closer over him, Victor recalled his previous nightmares. There was always a hand, sometimes two, sometimes ten, grabbing for him, all with long, icy fingers just like this one, but never did he see more than the corner of Its mouth. Now he saw It, in all Its horrid form. The face, nothing but sharp angles, was exactly in front of him. Its pointed nose nearly touched his, and the poppy-red lips stretched in a wide smile, revealing a row of sharp teeth, clenched together and shining like diamonds. Victor felt more icy fingers around his throat. It was, he knew then, the Sepulchre of Glass and Flesh. No sooner had he thought that than he felt himself dragged, forever separated from the comfort of his room. Like the corpse of a fallen deer, he was being pulled over forest briars, and each time he tried to struggle, the forest punished him with dirt in his face and stinging barbs in his flash. With his arms bloodied from thorn bites, Victor grabbed on to the last chance he saw - a tree just off the path. He put his arms around its spiked trunk, and held it in a lover's embrace. The tree held back, sinking its skewers deep beneath his skin. The Sepulchre of Glass and Flesh paid no heed and kept walking, its quarry firmly in its grasp. Still Victor held on, with strength beyond strength, until he felt his body being dragged away from the tree, his arms shattering like so much glass. Crying out in agony, he let go and surrendered. But the tree held on for one week and one day, and did not give until the poor boy's arms were distended like flimsy elastics and chunks of his flesh hung from its spines. The Sepulchre knew that nothing in the Hedge would let the boy go, Itself no exception. Victor knew, too. *** I'll keep adding poo poo about the Durance and escape from the Fae if anyone's interested. Jesu Kuristu fucked around with this message at 02:50 on Feb 5, 2009 |
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Nov 11, 2008 08:21
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Jesu Kuristu posted:what the heck nevermind I figured it it out Danhenge fucked around with this message at 08:35 on Nov 11, 2008 |
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Nov 11, 2008 08:28
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Danhenge posted:what the heck Everyone, meet Jesu Kuristu. He's like super cool.
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Nov 11, 2008 09:07
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homeboy needs an avatar. everyone should have an avatar.
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Nov 11, 2008 15:51
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If he gets one it should just be a giant  imo.Anyway, folks, I wanna run some mage today (Tuesday Nov. 11). Perhaps around seven or eightish? But there is a complication: AIM is not working for me for some bizarre reason. So start accreting in the channel if you want to contact me!
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Nov 12, 2008 00:40
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I have class till late sorry dude!
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Nov 12, 2008 00:44
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Ferrinus posted:If he gets one it should just be a giant I'd love to play but 7 or 8ish is not happening.  I have chem lab starting at 7, fifteen minutes from now, and it can last until 9:45 and then it's 30-45 minutes to get home depending on how much I'm persuaded by the speed limit signs. This is my situation every Tuesday, incidentally.I guess if it runs long enough, and I finish up early enough, I can catch the end and get caught up for next week. 
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Nov 12, 2008 00:45
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Ferrinus posted:If he gets one it should just be a giant also please include time zones, you're talk EST right?
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Nov 12, 2008 01:09
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Danhenge posted:also please include time zones, you're talk EST right? Yes, EST, the only real time zone. I can chill out and wait till nine or ten or whatever! But if any people are available they should feel free to materialize.
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Nov 12, 2008 01:17
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Ferrinus posted:Yes, EST, the only real time zone. I would not advise this, tonight can't really be a late night for me!
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Nov 12, 2008 01:27
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Danhenge posted:I would not advise this, tonight can't really be a late night for me! Well we're playing now without you anyway bitch. Debord is there~
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Nov 12, 2008 04:03
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welp I would join but I actually need to do some homework so I don't have to do it tomorrow so I can go meet some doctoral student from some other school whose program I may theoretically apply to
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Nov 12, 2008 04:26
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Danhenge posted:welp i think ferrinus said we can just pretend we brought you along we're goin' on a road trip in an suv "on extended loan" from a police impound lot
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Nov 12, 2008 04:35
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Nicolae Carpathia posted:i think ferrinus said we can just pretend we brought you along i will command spirits wherever possible! this is my #1 prime directive
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Nov 12, 2008 04:41
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Danhenge posted:i will command spirits wherever possible! ...wouldn't that be your #1 Spirit directive
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Nov 12, 2008 04:58
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oh ho ho ho ho
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Nov 12, 2008 05:35
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+3 experience for Troutville's Stump! 44 XP total. +1 arcane experience for discovering an interesting way to create indefinite spells semicheaply. 24 AXP total. Ferrinus fucked around with this message at 07:15 on Nov 12, 2008 |
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Nov 12, 2008 07:07
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Telekinetic Strike (Forces ***) The staple offensive spell of the Forces arcanum, this technique allows the caster to batter a target with pure kinetic energy. As the mage's mastery increases, he can finely sculpt the attack so as to rend or even disintegrate his target. This spell generally manifests as a whipcrack of force that lashes from the caster to the target, but advanced users can cause their victims to simply be crushed where they stand. Practice: Fraying Action: Instant and Aimed Duration: Lasting Aspect: Vulgar Cost: None Rote Skill: Athletics Each success inflicts one level of bashing damage on a target. A mage with Forces 4 can choose to deal lethal damage, and a mage with Forces 5 can spend an extra point of mana to deal aggravated damage. When this spell deals aggravated damage, it manifests both visibly and audibly as a shrieking, air-rending visual distortion, and so can be resisted by Defense. A mage with Forces 4 can choose to cast Telekinetic Strike as a directly-targeted spell rather than an aimed spell. His dicepool is reduced by the victim's Stamina but otherwise ignores factors such as armor, concealment, or prone-ness. A direct Telekinetic Strike inflicts bashing damage; with Forces 5, it can inflict lethal damage. In all cases, the target must roll Strength + Athletics, with a dice penalty equal to the damage dealt by the spell - if he fails, he is thrown a number of yards equal to the damage dealt (away from the caster for an aimed spell, or in any direction the caster chooses for a targeted spell) and falls prone. Telekinesis (Forces ***) The mage can exert force at a distance, moving things with thought alone. Practice: Weaving Action: Instant Duration: Concentration Aspect: Vulgar Cost: None Rote Skill: Athletics or Larceny The caster remotely seizes and manipulates an inanimate object, as long as the minimum Strength required to lift that object does not exceed this spell's Potency. The mage can will the object to take further actions in successive turns as part of concentrating to maintain the spell. While the spell remains in effect, the caster can also move the object nonviolently through the air at a speed of Gnosis + Forces + 5 in addition to taking his own movement in a turn. Dice actions taken by the object are resolved using the caster's Forces rating as an attribute and the caster's own skills, so the caster rolls Forces + Larceny + Equipment Bonus to remotely pick a lock or Forces + Weaponry + Damage Bonus to slash someone with a floating sword. The caster must release the spell's hold on an item to throw it beyond the range it could normally be moved in a turn, but adds Gnosis to the dicepool to do so and ignores any penalty for improvised weapons by expending all of the spell's latent energy at once. By adding target factors to this spell, a caster can take hold of and manipulate multiple objects at once so long as the spell's Potency rating is sufficient to shift their combined weight. The mage can still perform only one instant action per turn of concentration, so one object might act while the others hang in place or all objects might act together to achieve some singular task, adjudicated with a single dicepool. Rolls to affect multiple targets with levitated objects suffer a dice penalty equal to the number of targets. An Adept of Forces can cast this spell with a Prolonged duration. The caster must still concentrate to make objects perform instant actions, but can otherwise count on them to remain afloat or move through the air for as long as the spell lasts. Alternately, an Adept of Forces can add one mana to this spell's cost to double its Potency for the purposes of how much mass it can lift. Objects lifted by this means are too heavy to be manipulated normally: they can only hang in the air, float at a Speed equal to the caster's Gnosis, or float slightly faster at a speed equal to the caster's Gnosis + Forces if concentration is devoted to moving them. A Master of Forces can access both these options simultaneously. Telekinetic Grapple (Forces *****) The caster seizes a living (or at least animate) creature with unseen force, holding it helplessly aloft or hurling it through the air. Practice: Weaving Action: Instant and Contested; target rolls Resolve + Gnosis Duration: Concentration Aspect: Vulgar Cost: None Rote Skill: Athletics, Brawl or Larceny The caster telekinetically grapples a creature within range. If the spell's Potency is at least as high as the theoretical Strength rating that would be required to lift the creature off the ground, the creature can be moved through the air at a speed of the caster's Gnosis + Forces + 5 minus the creature's own Resolve as part of the caster's own movement on a turn. Otherwise, the creature is merely seized where it stands, unable to move freely as though grappled normally. The target remains otherwise free to act, although any physical actions it takes have their dicepools reduced by the caster's Forces rating just as they would be by the Strength of a grappling opponent. (At the storyteller's discretion, other actions might be penalized as well; it can be difficult to concentrate when upside down.) The caster can perform overpowering manuevers against the target on subsequent turns while concentrating to maintain the spell, using the same dicepool used to cast the spell minus the higher of the target's Strength or Resolve. The target might be slowly crushed or smashed into obstacles to inflict damage (adding the obstacles' Durability to the dicepool and potentially inflicting lethal damage in the latter case), forced to drop its weapons or turn them on itself (requiring separate actions to first turn and then attack with turned weapons), or Immobilized completely. Multiple targets grappled by adding Target or Area factors to this spell can all be subject to the same overpowering manuever simultaneously at a penalty of one die per target. Victims of this spell cannot escape by normal means but can attempt to will themselves free. A grappled creature can roll its Resolve + Gnosis once per round as an extended action, escaping the spell once its total successes exceed the caster's. A mage that already knows the Telekinesis rote can pay 2 experience points to upgrade it to a rote for this spell. Henceforth, this rote's dicepool can be used to cast either spell. Heavy Telekinesis (Forces *****) Exerting a prodigious amount of power, the caster can move staggering amounts of mass with a silent act of will. Practice: Making Action: Instant Duration: Transitory Aspect: Vulgar Cost: 2 Mana Rote Skill: Athletics, Brawl or Larceny This functions as the normal Telekinesis spell, except that the spell Potency is added to the caster's Gnosis and then doubled to determine how much material can be lifted at once, the caster can target the spell using advanced area factors by default, and the caster cannot perform dice actions or freely move levitated objects. The caster can move the spell's target up to Gnosis + Forces + 5 yards on the turn of the spell's casting, and must concentrate to continue the movement over subsequent rounds; otherwise, affected objects hang in place. A mage who knows the Telekinesis or Telekinetic Grapple rotes can upgrade them to this rote by paying the difference in experience points. Henceforth, this rote's dicepool can be used to cast it or either of those two spells. Telekinetic Trance (Forces *****) The mage's psychokinetic powers become effortless and innate. Suddenly, everything is in reach and everything subject to the caster's force of will. Practice: Making Action: Instant Duration: Prolonged Aspect: Vulgar Cost: 2 Mana Rote Skill: Athletics or Larceny The caster gains intrinsic telekinetic powers. While this spell is in effect, the mage may use the Telekinesis, Telekinetic Grapple, and Heavy Telekinesis spells as though they were Legacy attainments rather than spells; they do not cost an extra point of mana, cause paradox, gain bonuses from vulgarity or penalties from Sleeper witnesses, or function when used sympathetically or ritualistically. They are not subject to counterspelling or dispellation - the Telekinetic Trance itself must be countered or dispelled to deprive the caster of these powers. The base mana cost, actions and dicepools the caster uses to effect telekinesis do not change. Sleeper disbelief does erode the Potency of the Telekinetic Trance spell itself whenever the spell's effects are witnessed. Ferrinus fucked around with this message at 20:28 on Jan 20, 2011 |
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Nov 13, 2008 02:40
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quote:As the borrowed SUV rumbles down the road, Solomon finds himself sitting in the back with nothing much to do. Wind whips past through the open windows, something unidentifiable plays on the radio, and the entire affair's actually pretty restful, in a way. +1 Arcane XP for a bizarre dream Notpaul had (again)! 25 AXP total. Ferrinus fucked around with this message at 07:26 on Nov 13, 2008 |
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Nov 13, 2008 06:24
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drat that's pretty metal
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Nov 13, 2008 21:35
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drat how did a sleepwalker get to be so awesome, dude's got visions and a helldog and he can command nearly everything we run into at least i got us an SUV!
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Nov 13, 2008 22:47
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Nicolae Carpathia posted:drat This is just the beginning.
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Nov 14, 2008 00:05
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NOT PAUL LAYTON posted:This is just the beginning. is this in the sense of "don't worry nicolae everyone will get a chance to be awesome too!" or "you have no idea of the terrible depths of my power!"? edit: I didn't mean this as a complaint or griping about how things are going, this game is a lot of fun, I am just concerned I am not pulling my weight or doing much to stand out as useful! Nicolae Carpathia fucked around with this message at 00:43 on Nov 14, 2008 |
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Nov 14, 2008 00:12
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Nicolae Carpathia posted:is this in the sense of "don't worry nicolae everyone will get a chance to be awesome too!" or "you have no idea of the terrible depths of my power!"? this is notpaul, what do you think quote:edit: I didn't mean this as a complaint or griping about how things are going, this game is a lot of fun, I am just concerned I am not pulling my weight or doing much to stand out as useful! dude you pretty much specialize in the game's strongest arcanum, don't worry about it incidentally, here's notpaul's player character, along with his Sleepwalker Retainer 
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Nov 14, 2008 01:07
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Ferrinus posted:this is notpaul, what do you think cool picture didnt read all the words that went with it earlier hope this helps
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Nov 14, 2008 01:12
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| # ? Apr 18, 2024 13:13 |
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Nicolae Carpathia posted:you have no idea of the terrible depths of my power!
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Nov 14, 2008 01:12
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