Olympics, Beijing 2008

Do you realize how many Excrucians take pleasure in infiltrating the games and competing? I won at least twenty gold medals between six different skins. Not a bad year, my skills have not declined since my vacation from the Valde Bellum.

Congratulations to any mortal Olympians, if any. ;D

Vitality in Hardship

Taking on the skins of many Powers has put me in many awkward positions from time to time. Each has his own plethora of ticks and quirks that act to make that Power who he or she is. Here are a few interesting ones you might not be aware of.

New Handicaps:

• Associated with the Cammora (pseudo-Virtue)
  
• This being pays better than most Nobles and the Cammora know it. He has enlisted them many times in the past. The association has marred his status among other Sovereigns, but they respect him for fear of his occasional dealings.
• Flawed Immortality (Limit; +1/+2)
• The immortality of this being is compromised under several circumstances.
• +1 MP: An uncommon event, a few times a year (something the being has to look out for)
  
• Eclipses, the first day of each season, on his or her birthday, harmed by fire or guns
  
• +2 MP: A common, unavoidable event (something the being has to plan around)
  
• Mortal in sunlight, when put under water, mortal when speaking
• Open Book (Limit; +1/+2)
• This being is overly easy to predict through empathy.
• +1 MP: One can tell his general state of mind and emotions.
• +2 MP: One can more or less read his most prevailing thoughts at the moment.
  
• Personal Bane (Restriction)
• The being is haunted by a specific Bane. The Power of Greed may be constantly ambushed by an ethereal Robin Hood-figure, for instance.
• Prayer Receptive (Restriction)
• The Power is willing to grant favors with respect to her domain, ones which usually become influenced by his affiliation. He must at least consider an indirect proposal and will fulfill at least a twisted version of a proper face-to-face request by mortals. The miracle or act in question does not need to be carried out immediately.
• Weak Attribute (Limit; variable)
• The capacity for potential in one attribute of this being is underdeveloped.
• The being cannot spend MP of the chosen kind to raise his miracle level or add penetration; the attribute cannot be Spirit.
• He gains MP to another attribute equal to 1 per two levels under level 5; level 2 and 3 yield +1 MP, level 0 and 1 yields +2 MP.
  

Bite Me, Fangface!

Of all the beasts that stalk the worldly fruits of the World Ash, I find vampires to be a great nuisance. I do not know why, but they consistently wander into my plans and I manage to scamper away just as I am about to set the heel of my boot upon them. Rodents!

Alongside my time spent here at CtWA, I have acquired several specimens and taken them back to the encampment for further study. Perhaps some kind of poison is due, or maybe vampirism could be turned against you Creation defenders. Fancy that.

Vampirism, as I have come to understand it, is a sort of spirit-virus. It can spread from one mortal soul to the next when the vampire grabs a hold of the victim. The spread has been attributed to biting because in the time it takes for the spirit-virus to spread, the hunger for lifeforce in the attacker has already driven them to feast.

Bestiary Entry: Vampires (Inheritor)
Vampires are mortal creatures afflicted with a parasitic spirit that craves lifeforce. As it is driven to feed in Prosaic Earth, the infection spreads in the Mythic. This process can take a ten minutes to an hour to complete. Vampirism outbreaks occur rarely but are usually self-contained; it is viewed mostly as a (un)natural disaster like a flood rather than a global threat. There are a few vampiric Powers, very few, and Excrucians are immune to it. Humans, animals, and other Prosaic beings are targets.

Vampires can acquire Superior Attributes up to 3.

They take on the Shapeshifting gift, allowing them to turn into a nocturnal creature.

Vampires gain the Restrictions: Slain by Sunlight, and Repulsed by the Creator's Name.

Being caught in the sunlight will kill them instantly while other light sources will harm them but not outright kill them though it will hurt immensely.
Moonlight grants them Durant and a full moon's light renders them Immortal.

They are averted by religious symbols that they once held faith in. An atheist vampire poses some problem in that respect.

A wooden stake through the heart will kill them. As will any other sharp thing driven through that organ; it is the focal point where the spirit-virus establishes its bond. Without it the spirit is released and dies immediately. The process kills the victim but their soul is intact and freed only them this is completed. In a full moon's light, a severed yet unpierced heart will regenerate the entire host.

The IPhone 2? So it begins...

I'm not entirely privy to the human technology fad (Hell, even I didn't get into E3), so it came as a surprise to me when the dastardly Steve Jobs decided to unveil the newest incarnation of evil - the sequel to the IPhone. What is the fundamental bane of something's existence? Itself! Yes... Only the IPhone can defeat the IPhone; do you see the elegance, little Nobles? Your Creation's destruction is inevitable, it is a part of its own existence! Haha!

So, this got me thinking about what I listen to on a daily basis. I'm often rather organizational, when it suits me. Thus I rename the title of my favorite songs to act as theme songs to the Valde Bellum. It's casual listening. Not the sort of casual-to-the-point-of-forgetting-one's-duty-to-Creation-and-dying-between-my-fingers listening, but I could dream, can't I?

Nabonidus's Top Play List:

1. Theme of the Warmains - Symptom of the Universe, Black Sabbath. My favorite match-up, really. Listen to the lyrics.
   
2. Theme of the Deceivers - Only, Nine Inch Nails
3. Theme of the Strategists - Difficult... Paint It Black, Rolling Stones is a good one. Or possibly, Closer, Nine Inch Nails. Bah, Strategists, the sickos. It all depends on what they're into.
   
4. Theme of the Mimics - Hmm, I don't know. What does your Imperator listen to anyway?
   
5. Theme of the Dark - Do the Evolution, Pearl Jam
6. Theme of the Light - Knights of Cydonia, Muse
7. Theme of Heaven - I'll flay you alive if you were going to suggest Stairway to Heaven. Actually: Tribute, Tenacious D; an interesting choice, for reasons you could only hope to comprehend.
   
8. Theme of the Fallen Angels - Another rending if you would say Highway to Hell! I say: Dragula, Rob Zombie
9. Theme of the Wild - Voodoo Child, Jimi Hendrix
10. Theme of the Aaron's Serpents (why not?) - Carry On, Kansas; they're a bunch of mama's boys once you get down to it...
    

So that's all for now. Sorry about the delay. ;D

The Story of a(n Immortal) Lifetime

I just heard the greatest story to ever grace immortal ears earlier today. We caught an angel this morning and, well, the story speaks for itself:

[error: language not found, 'True Tongue of Heaven']

So anyway, we all ended up stopping by this little place for drinks afterward. And the bastard still owes me 11 punches.

Seven Spinners... Spinning...

I have spent a lot of time in the staging grounds and encampments that have been so carefully laid around your 'Weirding Wall' and each one is remarkably different depending on those in charge. One element I find to be the same, among the many I've stayed at for a era or two, is the presence of Spinners. Liken them to mortal blacksmiths, they are a useful... flavor of Excrucian, if you will. You have likely witnessed their handiwork firsthand, either in the tools they have crafted with excruciating diligence or in the creatures they inspired into creation.

The myths many of you may have heard or sworn by as mortals are mostly true, as far as I'm told that is. Yet one I am certain of is the story of Arachne; she is one of the few to have visited Earth, and yet her momentary presence and the battle with Minerva, the Power of Handicrafts at the time, brought forth new life; you may thank us later.

Spinners have an interesting relationship with Strategists. I'm not 100% sure, but they do share similar abilities in shaping anti-nature. The Strats I hang out with often use 'sheets' of the stuff while Spinners use a more strand-like approach; it's something that I, a weaver of a net of lies, can appreciate.

Another weird thing about Spinners is that they aren't really preachy like the others. A Spinner is generally driven in a cycle of designing all manners of vicious gadgets and thingamajigs and then sneaking into Creation to test them out; they might also hand them out for others to test, and what a hoot it is. I remember the last one they gave me to test out - it was a twisted little dagger that devoured the last day of February and scared the day before it into hiding! They're rather artsy and bohemian critters, but with a definite mean streak.

If I were to describe one to you, I guess it would look like any old Excrucian, probably more like a Strat if anything. They're difficult to see behind a maze of hand-sown wards that obscures them from sight and Sight. And they move with speed and grace that surprises me again and again, especially when they get all their arms in motion; Arachne had six arms, but many have four with one noteworthy fellow having ten. They don't have shards, but one that makes it to Earth can take Anchors and even maintain that Anchor while it returns to our Lands Beyond with a special thread.

The eyes of a Spinner form loose constellations, foretelling things to be by their hands or of the prophecies they divine.

---

Spinners - High Priority Template

"Do I create weapons? Do I create armor? Do I create death, among other things? No, of course not. That would be silly. I do not create a weapon, for instance. That is a mortal deed, a Power's deed. Instead, I create Weapon, all that is and will ever be of that which has one purpose: to destroy... That is the prerogative of the Spinners."
-Elisasor Malikaron

A Spinner is a rarely encountered variety of Excrucian. They generally provide a support role, and are built on 60 points for the wide range of abilities they command.

• Spinners are able to transcend causality through their movements as well as multitask with the mind of a craftsman than exceeds even a spiritual bond to the Art, as they call it. Where others take a mundane and miraculous action each turn, a Spinner can take two (any combination thereof)
• Spinners have an Alchemy rating between 3 and 5.
• Spinners use a twisted variant of the typical Alchemy rules to craft Excrucian relics, poisons, and other vile imaginings from abhorrent tokens taken with them from the Lands Beyond Creation.
• With a bit of additional effort, inspiration, and motivation, they can create Abhorrent Weapons with the greatest of skill.
  
• Spinners have ratings from 0 to 5 in Aspect and Spirit; they have no Domain, unless give one via a focus.
  
• Spinners hold miraculous energy in a pool, rather than spreading it among their attributes; they start with a pool of 20 MP and have no need for the Rite of the Last Trump.
• These Excrucian craftsmen have many more arms than any normal humanoid shape another Excrucian may take on.
• The limbs are part of the shape of the Spinner's being.
  
• Each set of arms can be working on a separate project at once (such as an act of Alchemy or a lengthy ritual); each pair costs 2 cp plus another 1 for every other pair.
  
• Spinners can have gifts, especially ones that affect Powers and miraculous energy.
• Spinners have no shards. They do have 2 + Spirit Anchors.
• All Spinners have the Artisan Virtue and may take Shapeshifting (Comprehensive) for free.

Cant of the Spinners

1. Become entangled in the beauty of the Art.
2. Create that which will remain unparalleled.
   
3. Share.

Spinner Gifts:
Common gifts a Spinner might have from the standard fare include: Immutable, Eternal, Sacrosanct, Gatemaker, Invisibility, and Excrucian gifts like Perfect Planning or Midas Mors Mortis. Previously listed here are several other gifts of value, including Decoy, Excrucian Blessing, and the Goose Chase Invocation. They almost never have Glorious or Immortal, two gifts whose developments are hindered by the powers a Spinner manifests.

Unique gifts are encouraged and should be themed around utility, the rise and fall of miraculous energy, strange twists in miraculous time, and the manipulation of dark energies.

Clockmaker's Envy
2 point
"With a spirit that will never be caught off-guard by the design of anything short of immaculate, Spinners can reduce a mundane or miracle-produced item to collapse into a heap of its component pieces. Screws and bonding agents simple slip away and an entire car could fall in as a pile of perfectly disassembled rubble with a single touch. It's not quite the World Breaker's Touch, but it'll sully a good day in your 'modern' world. It has no effect on a bullet slug or a ton of bricks, clearly."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Destruction of Assembly (5), Penetration 0, Simple -1, Single -2, One Trick -3, Uncommon +1, x2 (Affects several Estates)

Duplicate
15 points
"A Spinner with great power can see an thing within Creation and copy it, having created far more complex works on its own. The time it takes is based on the size and mass of the thing, while creating the proxy of a Power (once adding penetration to the cost is done) would depend on the original's power and prestige. The result is a nearly flawless copy; anything so created cannot be repaired or grow beyond its original status. Gifts of endurance do not agree with the anti-nature threads and the nature of this material does nothing to prevent erosion of the completed work when it is put through its rigors. Copied Powers do not heal and lose the gifts of Durant, Immutable, Eternal, Immortal, and the healing ability of Sacrosanct, nor do they regain MP."
Cost Breakdown: Major Change (9), Hard -2, Single -2, Comprehensive -1, Uncommon +1, x3 (most estates)

Entropic Dilation
6 to 11 points (default 9 points)
"By breaking down the illusion of time and matter around it, they create spheres of entropy and undetectable anti-nature that act as potent defenses. Anything passing through the sphere, even mundane items, and Powers without the ability to overcome the penetration of this gift pass on through to a random point on the outside of the sphere. Throwing a punch at a Spinner may very well end up knocking you out, and a hail of bullets becomes a nasty mess for everyone beyond the entropy spheres. Spheres can be created at a point in space or to surround the creator and move with them (they last for an hour or until the energy it harnesses is exhausted)."
Cost Breakdown: Major Creation of Misdirection (7), Penetration 3, Normal +1, Local -1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Sensory Network
3 points
"Around a Spinner's favored work sites are webs of the unusual invisible threads they utilize. These networks serve as an early warning system and allow the Spinner to see and hear as if it were there on any point along the web. They are generally impractical to use while the Spinner is on the move, but they prove handy as the Spinner might be caught off-guard while focusing on an engrossing project. Any Auctoritas caught in the web as it is made will leave a blind spot that often goes unrealized."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Change of Perspective (6), Simple -1, Local -1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Silver Thread
10 points
"Few are the Spinners that can weave the Silver Thread, but they are the most revered of all. By crafting this strand in seven days time the Spinner can create a highway through the Weirding Wall by which it may travel back and forth. The thread must start within Creation and could lead anywhere beyond it. A single MP spent at the site (or the creator's own will) can forcibly cut the thread; thus it is important to hide the evidence."
Cost Breakdown: Major Change of Location (9), Hard +3, Local -1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Timeless Spinning
5 to 10 points (default 8 points)
"A Spinner can spin forth objects of Excrucian alchemy in mere hours and perform lesser weaving in a minute or two. The result is something that may have taken an eternity to bring about."
Cost Breakdown: Major Change of Time (9), Penetration 3, Automatic +1, Self -3, One Trick -3, Uncommon +1
(A Major Change is used rather than Major Creation to affect the time line of Powers and Excrucians, not the one of mortals.)

Time Thread Trap
3 to 10 points (default 7 points)
"Time Thread is made of elementary energy unraveled from the Spinner to ensnare other beings; anything miraculous that touches these invisible strands of Excrucian anti-nature is held fast until the Spinner leaves the area or several hours pass. Effects and beings trapped are caught up in the same causality crushing effect that follows in the wake of Spinners, thereby preserving the prey or effect in anti-time until the thread disperses. Unused thread may last for eons or be moved by a Spinner with great care. Immortals can be held by the thread, but they burn through their portion of it in less than an hour."
Cost Breakdown: Major Creation of Obstructions (7), Penetration 4, Normal -2, Local -1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Time Thread Trap, Precision
2 to 9 points (default 4 points)
"Precision Time Thread Trap is a cheaper version of the original gift. It allows for the placement of a single strand at a time (or one from each hand). A single strand does as well as a copse of them, but has less of a chance of catching a flock of Nobles. It is easier on their stores of energy as well, and allows a well-paced Spinner to unleash as much as it will ever need."
Cost Breakdown: Major Creation of Obstructions (7), Penetration 2, Simple -1, Single -2, One Trick -3, Uncommon +1

Prophecy
8 points (of Powers) or 10 points (of Imperials)
"When one practices forethought in creating a truly magnificent work of art, they begin to see things in a different way. Spinners carry this sense within them. By reading the strands and looking onto the web of actions leading into the future, they can foresee what will come in the future and have an above average idea of what courses of action might be taken. To them, causality is simply a tapestry, though a gaudy one at that. Even with their abilities to break time, it takes an hour of careful thought to use the gift. Rarely do they act, but rather watch from a distance and a smirk."
Cost Breakdown: Major Divination of Action (5), Penetration 5 or 7, Hard -2, Global +1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Runewrought Spirit
6 points
"Spinners often anoint themselves with dark sigils as a primary defense against enemy miracles. This gift alters the way their Auctoritas functions by allowing them to spend SMP in a reactionary Spirit miracle to increase their Spirit and require a higher Penetration on miracles in order to affect them. A level 5 Spirit miracle, for instance, blocks miracles with less than 5 Penetration (an Inferno need not spend SMP like this anyway); a level 9 Spirit miracle blocks miracles with less than 9 Penetration. This practice has been copied from the Spinners by several Powers, presumably without their permission."
Cost Breakdown: Spirit (9), Automatic +1, Self -3, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Ward Weaving
11 points
"Spinners weave curtains of anti-nature laced with runes and other abhorrent invocations to negate enemy magics. They can leave these anti-magic cloaks over their own spirits, other beings, and anything else. The Spinner can lay this over an enemy and activate it as they go to use a miracle, or allow someone to consciously use their ward to negate a miracle that would come in contact with their Auctoritas or body. Layers of this ward can be worn at a time and triggered independently, each negating a single miracle of level 8 or less. Penetration is used to put the ward on others and activate it when in another's Auctoritas."
Cost Breakdown: Major Destruction of Miraculous Energy (8), Penetration 7, Normal -2, Single -2, Comprehensive -1, Uncommon +1

Tricks of the Dark Horde

To foster a bit of trust, I'm going to detail some of the inner workings of Excrucian powers. Some of which are available to Nobles such as yourselves, so feel free to be inspired and let your abilities grow if you can.

---

Name
points
"Explanation"
Cost Breakdown: Miracle (level), Penetration X, Activation +X, Range +X, Use +X, Uncommon +1

Decoy
7 points
"Deceivers and Strategists are often known to use this ability to escape from failed situations or force an enemy out into the open. By spending 1 DMP, the Excrucian can loosen the tiniest fragment of its anti-nature and give it a list of tasks to perform for 24 hours (all attributes are zero). The decoy is guised on a visual and spiritual level, as if disguised by the Ritual of Two Skins, but will dissipate when attacked. Many users of this ability use it in tandem with Invisibility."
Cost Breakdown: Major Creation of Distraction (7), Penetration 5, Normal -2, Local -1, One Trick-3, Uncommon +1

Entitlement
5 points
"We Deceivers can fool the rather simplistic spirits of everyday possessions as if we were their owner; to accomplish this, we must make some kind of contact with the target in order to extract some piece of them as a focus for this ability. With a piece of hair, skin, blood, or whatever and a one hour ritual, a Deceiver can pose as that person in any form for the purposes of accessing their possessions for seven days (normally the Ritual of Two Skins would allow this benefit, but only with one at a time). The focus becomes a skeleton key to the victim's property. Doors unlock, checking accounts withdraw, and homes invite. Passwords are useless; the most imposing security system, even magics up to the point of Major Preservations, will generally fall to us with this charm in place if the victim could circumvent it with a key or the like. For all intents and purposes we own them with all rights available to the victim. Mortals, Anchors, and Powers are all common targets; spiritual protection rarely applies as the only time spent within an Auctoritas is to procure the focus. From then on the ability is worked at the Deceiver's leisure."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Change of Property (6), Normal -2, Global +1, Comprehensive -1, Uncommon +1

Excrucian Blessing
6 points
"The constructs of mortals are weak, but sometimes all we have to make do with. With a touch and a rather steep investment of anti-nature, we can enhance that thing to a more miraculous nature. Vehicles become almost impossibly fast, weapons can strike with the force of titans, walls can only be breached by the most devastating blows, and many other generous modifications. The item is similarly warped in its appearance, and the effects last at most one hour. Warmains and Strategists are very found of this capability, and usually transfer its power into a glove or wrist accessory to hold the anti-nature required to fuel it."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Change (6), Hard -3, Single -2, Unlimited Uses +1, Uncommon +1, x2 (the Estates of items, etc.)
Alternatively, the ability to alter one type of object reduces the effect to a single Estate, and thus 3 cp.

False Veneer
1 point
"The gift of Immortality is most commonly seen as offering just one benefit, the ability to resist any and all damage. Yet some deceitful Excrucians, even Powers, have realized that another benefit is that the sight of an oncoming juggernaut can demoralize even the most determined foes. The gift of False Veneer makes the user look as if he or she were unaffected by damage to a distance of six inches from its skin; a spear impaled through an Excrucian will seem to have healed over, but beneath the image will be a gaping wound. Missing limbs will fall out of the 'projection', but it still appears as if the limb is there. The spear would be covered in blood (or whatever pervades the Excrucian form) when pulled out but spray from bullets is hidden.
See False Veneer - Conspiring, for a greatly enhanced version."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Preservation of Appearance (3), Automatic +1, Self -3, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Flense
3 to 10 points (default 5 points)
"Warmains trained in flensing are vicious; by finding the weakest point where body and soul meet and working a weapon or spiritual claw into the joint to tear a chunk of both out. This requires a succesful strike with legitimate melee weapon, such as a hook, a sword, or an axe, or a free hand. As part of the attack, this gift is activated and the resulting wound, if any, is made permanent. A piece of the victim is torn free and must be recovered and reassimilated by the victim to allow the wound to start healing. The magic still isn't fast enough to remove the flesh of an Immortal before it can heal, and often provides a comical tugging match for those involved."
Cost Breakdown: Major Destruction of Health (8), Penetration 2, Simple -1, Single -2, One Trick -3, Uncommon +1

Goose Chase Invocation
3 points
"By planting the slightest hint of another Estate at the scene of a crime, we Deceivers gifted in the art of the aptly named Goose Chase Invocation can instill an area with the presence of any Estate we desire. This is perfect for giving a soon to arrive Power the impression that another's Estate was involved here and can lead the users of a Witch Hunt Rite to a dead end."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Creation of Presence (4), Normal -2, Local -1, Limited -2, Uncommon +1, x3 (all Estates)

Hypnosis
6 points
"This trick is popular among Deceivers, and the occasional Strategist. The former puts the ability through the most twisted uses, though. By making eye contact with an enemy, they can unleash a hypnotic trance upon the victim to render them suggestive to any sort of directions given to them. Immutables and Immortals are typically immune, and Sacrosancts can be the wrong ones to try this on as it generally invokes the fury of their curse. Aspect 4, Spirit 3, or a proper Virtue can also spoil the effect.

"With the trance set in place, an Excrucian can give a series of commands within bounds of the victim's Code. It works on mortals and Powers, perhaps lesser Horsemen as well. The victim 'awakens' afterwards and carries out the task with realizing it."
Cost Breakdown: Major Creation of Command (7), Penetration 2, Simple -1, Single -2, Comprehensive -1, Uncommon +1

Lesser Excruciation
4 to 9 points (default 7 points)
"When a particularly vile Excrucian renders a Power helpless, it often decides to let the Power live in order to weaken its remaining Familia. This act of 'mercy' doesn't come free at all; with an hour of work and 2 DMPs, the Excrucian is able to bestow a horrid affliction from beyond the Weirding Wall. This contagion eats away at the Power from the inside and often goes unrealized until significant damage has occurred. Whenever the Power uses a miracle or gift, the miracle's attribute is reduced by one (if it would be reduced below zero, the Power loses all its relevant MP) or use of the gift is lost; this lasts until the sickness is resolved. Hints of the Excruciation are not to be given to a PC until his or her miraculous abilities quickly become more cumbersome to use and eventually die out all together, along with the Power when there is nothing left to be lost. A Power killed in this way or by being forsaken by its Imperator and Familia comes back to life as an Anchor to an Excrucian shard, or as an Excrucian shard to a full Excrucian.

"The Lesser Excruciation can be undone by having the afflicted Power consume the heart of one who naturally carries anti-nature within them; the heart from an Anchor of the attacker will undo the damage of a shard, while it takes the heart of a shard to stop a full Excrucian's Lesser Excruciation. If the attacker itself is destroyed or banished, it will also undo the effect but this generally takes more effort."
Cost Breakdown: Major Change of Miraculous Power (9), Penetration 3, Hard -3, Single -2, Wide -1, Uncommon +1

Proof Against Weapons
2 to 7 points (default 4 points)
"Most Excrucians and some Powers bear the radiance to turn waves of mortals, yet some can even resist the ravages of mortal weaponry. Those who carry the Proof Against Weapons gift have an aura that automatically shatters any crafted weapon such as a bullet, blade, or crushing implement that holds no miraculous power greater than the level of this gift (such as a focus, abhorrent weapon, or alchemical creation; a major preservation will allow a lesser weapon to strike). The drawback is that this cannot be turned off, and it limits the offensive options of the user. Improvised weapons can bypass this defense, but a more puissant version may be bought at twice the cost to cover that venue of damage as well."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Destruction of Weapons (5), Penetration 2, Automatic +1, Self -3, Limited -2, Uncommon +1

Telekinesis
4 points plus 2 per point of penetration
"Available to Noble and Excrucian, Telekinesis is a gift for the excitable warriors of either side of the war. It works as a more superficial version of the Sovereign's Gift that I've heard about. They can focus on a single object at a time; boosting it to Local raises the base price by 2 but grants the option of moving many such items, no more that they could lift with their own body is a general rule of thumb, because it takes a bit of work to micromanage and control that many things at once. "
Cost Breakdown: Minor Change (6), Simple -1, Single -2, Limited -2, Uncommon +1, x2 (physical Estates)

Uplink
2 points + encryption
"Available to both Excrucians and Powers, this ability is common among Familia and Excrucian groups who share an exceptionally strong bond, one which encompasses the mortal conception of 'telepathy'. With this gift, a Power can speak effortlessly to all its Anchors, Familia, and Imperator on the same realm; in brief it offers the functionality of a text-only chat room. It is overwhelming popular among Strategists.

"Spending points on encryption treats the miracle level as that much higher in order to counteract any means of intercepting the messages. Improving the flexibility to Wide (-1) allows for the user to transmit images as if through a webcam, but also makes the gift uncommon (+1) to make the gift cost 4 points + encryption in total."
Cost Breakdown: Minor Creation of Communication (4), Penetration 0, Simple -1, Global +1, Limited -2

Welcome Nobilis

Hello and welcome, defenders of the World Ash. I am but a humble Excrucian wishing to present his exploits to the mystical world. If you listen up, you may very well learn a thing or two or [error: number not found].

I've been speaking with Tairte and Archetel about this for a while now and they pushed me to start up this little side project once I had worked over that flower rite on [error: Estate not found]. With that all cleared up, I accept their proposal and see this as a prime opportunity to share with all of you my tales and findings throughout Existence. I've seen and acted as many things, believe you me, and perhaps you will be struck with the desire for the noble Excrucian cause along the way.

You may all find yourselves privileged to learn of the things beyond the simple, ignorant minds of you Ashers, no offense implied. And may you become greater, so th[at I may steal your very form in due time; I do not carry out this task without hoping to reap some kind of benefit in the future.

Yours with Starry-Eyed Glee,
[error: signature.bmp; dimension limit exceeded by [error: number not found]]
~Nabonidus

(OOC) Welcome to Carving the World Ash

This is the beginning of a site based around the role-playing game, Nobilis: the Game of Sovereign Powers, by Rebecca Sean Borgstrom (aka RSB; now Jenna Katerin Moran), which is beginning to make a come-back with the release of new 'Peculiar' books and a reprint of the manual combining the last version with rules from the live action role-playing supplement.

The blog is generally run in character by the Excrucian Deceiver Nabonidus Aqenenrea. Whether or not you should heed his tales and findings is up to you. I will present new homebrewed material created by myself, and any others if they ask nicely and wish to join in on the act as fellow Dark Horsemen (a Strategist and a Warmain would be best). Think of it as an Excrucian propaganda website or a dysfunctional tromp through the digital front of the Valde Bellum. My goal is to create a sort of alternate-reality game and it is expected that all comments be made in character.

Posts with the tag "(OOC)" before the title are out of character and may be responded to as such. Posts with homebrew elements, most, should have an IC compenent at least before any OOC rules discussions. Mail may be sent to Nabonidus via the address: mi th ri l. gm ai l. co m, for now.