Glories: the Unconquered Sun

GARdian:

Haven't read the whole thread but I'm gonna pop in to say I liked just about everything.  The only dissapointment that comes to my mind is Rising Sun Slash--which was underwhelming for what it was supposed to be.  Only unblockable, really?

paradim:

GARdian:

Haven't read the whole thread but I'm gonna pop in to say I liked just about everything.  The only dissapointment that comes to my mind is Rising Sun Slash--which was underwhelming for what it was supposed to be.  Only unblockable, really?

Unblockable and Undodgable against Creatures of Darkness when you add +2 motes for the Holy Keyword.  This Charm lets you score a direct hit on the Ebon Dragon and he can't do squat about it.

And then it's a Lightning Stroke Attack for 6m. That's brilliant design, Solars are best at smiting Creatures of Darkness, but they still don't step on the Lunars toes by being once again better at their shtick (since LSA has been the "lunar perfect" for some time").
And people seriosuly underestimate the usefulness of unblockable attacks. Weaker opponents are rarely able to keep a hgigh dodge DV and parry DV, so it isn't difficult to find opponents without dodge. Next, at higher level I[A]M and similar tricks mean that most chose to boost the close combat ability, instead of dodge, making DV far weaker. Finally, Unblockable is a good way to bypass "Defend Other".

Next question -

Shedding Infinite Radiance increases a Solars anima abilities. The Eclipse version comes with a special clause which says that, if a Fiend caste defers punishment for someone breaking the Eclipse's oath, the punishment lands on the Ebon Dragon.

Except this is exactly what normally happens when a Fiend defers divine punishment.

Infernals page 97:

... they have granted their diplomats the power to remove the burden of existing Eclipse and Moonshadow oaths and transfer the penalty for any transgression onto the Yozis, for whom such penalties have no purchase.

So every time a Fiend defers punishment the Ebon Dragon gets whapped with it instead. The Eclipse version of this charm ensures that... the Ebon Dragon continues to get whapped like he would anyway. The Solar charm does nothing that doesn't already happen, at least in regards to Fiend animas. So...  what's it supposed to do in this regard?

AnubisXy

Probably without the clause they simply don't care

Black Razor:

Perhaps Ligier's light was TOO MUCH to make shadows.

The mad light of the Green Sun doesn't produce shadows. You can see where this would have been a problem for the Dragon's Shadow.

September:

Holden:

Short answer: If you are E5, with PPE and GttMH, then in order to use your Yozi Charms, you must first turn on GttMH for the day. Then you can access your Yozi Charms. Otherwise, they're locked up with the rest of your E6 toys. Yes, this does mean you're hitting yourself with the Limit-stick twice every time you go after them.

How did you intend for PPE use to interact with Permanent and Indefinite charms?
Using the term "invoke" rather than "activate" seems to hint that a character with Mind-Hand Manipulation would have to pay a limit in every scene she invokes the power of the charm (IE uses telekinesis) and not just in the scene she activates it. This seem a bit odd with permanent powers though, since some improve core capabilities, such as run speed or health levels and some have permanent weaknesses (Running to forever for example). Or am I over-analyzing the choice of words?

Hmm, this is a good question. Lemme consult with the crew before I come back with a preliminary answer.

Sojko:

paradim:

GARdian:

Haven't read the whole thread but I'm gonna pop in to say I liked just about everything.  The only dissapointment that comes to my mind is Rising Sun Slash--which was underwhelming for what it was supposed to be.  Only unblockable, really?

Unblockable and Undodgable against Creatures of Darkness when you add +2 motes for the Holy Keyword.  This Charm lets you score a direct hit on the Ebon Dragon and he can't do squat about it.

And then it's a Lightning Stroke Attack for 6m. That's brilliant design, Solars are best at smiting Creatures of Darkness, but they still don't step on the Lunars toes by being once again better at their shtick (since LSA has been the "lunar perfect" for some time").
And people seriosuly underestimate the usefulness of unblockable attacks. Weaker opponents are rarely able to keep a hgigh dodge DV and parry DV, so it isn't difficult to find opponents without dodge. Next, at higher level I[A]M and similar tricks mean that most chose to boost the close combat ability, instead of dodge, making DV far weaker. Finally, Unblockable is a good way to bypass "Defend Other".

Right. LSA is basically the best attack Charm in the game, which means that Melee Solars really needed "Solar Lightning Stroke Attack."

But I didn't want to just give them straight-up Solar Lightning Stroke Attack because, well, we've seen it before, and it would probably leave Lunars making sad faces. So they get something a little more flexible, a little less expensive, a little more restricted, and a lot more Solar.

AnubisXy:

Except this is exactly what normally happens when a Fiend defers divine punishment.

Infernals page 97:

... they have granted their diplomats the power to remove the burden of existing Eclipse and Moonshadow oaths and transfer the penalty for any transgression onto the Yozis, for whom such penalties have no purchase.

So every time a Fiend defers punishment the Ebon Dragon gets whapped with it instead. The Eclipse version of this charm ensures that... the Ebon Dragon continues to get whapped like he would anyway. The Solar charm does nothing that doesn't already happen, at least in regards to Fiend animas. So...  what's it supposed to do in this regard?

AnubisXy

Um. Note bolded section.

Holden:

The mad light of the Green Sun doesn't produce shadows. You can see where this would have been a problem for the Dragon's Shadow.

Uh.

That's...difficult to figure out

Kinda hard to get your cosmic power on when you are the embodiment of all shadows in a universe where there ain't none.

thinker:

Kinda hard to get your cosmic power on when you are the embodiment of all shadows in a universe where there ain't none.

I think he's talking about how you can have light that casts no shadows.

Well, Ligier doesn't define Creatures of Darkness either.  Perhaps in the universe, shadows are not a property of light, but rather a property of righteousness?  You know, like, the reason things cast shadows is because they aren't perfect as the light of the sun, whereas Ligier's light makes no such distinctions?

Great stuff. One interesting thing I haven't seen mentioned is it looks like the UCS got his greatest powers AFTER the primordial war. Since the best ones are bound into his panoply, one reading would be that he didn't have those powers before the 'big mortal party where they give him gifts'

And I LOVE the prayer piece.  Char concept I've been rolling around has been a gun-toting Zenith who spent the first age patrolling the borders of creation with his lunar sidekick (inspiration from Lone Ranger, Pulp Fiction, and whatever movie that looked to start Leo DiCap & Gene Hackman, with a storyline about a cowboy who found religion).  Flamepieces are nice, but requiring firedust implies a really long supply line away from the south, and even in the south it feels a little unheroic to have to ride into town to stock up.  Plus, the starting solar wouldn't have the ammo-creation charm.
This takes the idea of a non-special ammo required flamepiece and gives it a really really cool description.

In the end, darkness is the beginning. Darkness is space and emptiness, and light is substance which fills the emptiness. Light does not cast shadows -- shadows are just the limits of the space that light fills; parts of the greater darkness that light cannot reach.

This reality supercedes the metaphor of darkness being evil and light being good, because those are only metaphors. In reality, both darkness and light are "good," because space without substance is pointless and and substance without space is impossible.

Holden:

Um. Note bolded section.

I think what he means is that, if an Eclipse with the Shedding Light's Radiance or whatever (Anima improving charm), who now has the ability to make oaths the Yozi must keep, and a Fiend goes back on a promise so sworn and defers the penalty onto the Ebon Dragon, that means the Ebon Dragon going to suffer the full effects of the curse for breaking it, right? Or would such a deferment be rejected by the Ebon Dragon, leaving his Fiend in the cold, so to speak.

Heck, if that's NOT what AnubisXY is asking, it's what I'm asking now.

Inugami:

I think he's talking about how you can have light that casts no shadows.

Equal intensity light coming from all directions at once and not reducing its intensity as it passes through barriers?