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Appearance Hybrid Charms

The body and the soul are linked. This is the truth that the Lunars have taken advantage of, and this is the truth that lies behind Appearance Hybrid Charms. These Charms alter the Exalt's body by concealing what others see, rather than by massive changes. These Charms may or may not be Obvious, depending on their purpose.

Disguise Charms

Masking The Brilliant Form</b>

<b>Cost: 1 or 5 motes Mins: Appearance 1, Essence 1Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Hybrid
Duration: Indefinate
Prerequisites: Appearance Enduring

The powers of Luna shine forth, but there are times it is better to go unseen, and the true predator - or prey - knows the value of hiding one's stripes. With this Charm, the Lunar hides those things about herself that mark her a Chosen of Luna, sending them into the background. At the cost of 1 mote, the character may cause her moonsilver tattoos to vanish, becoming completely invisible to the naked eye or Essence sight. For 5 motes, both the tattoos and the Tell can be completely surpressed. Unlike normal Hybrid Charms, this Charm may be deactivated if it is part of a Hybrid Form without turning off the other Charms in the Combo.

Wolf in Sheep's Clothing</b>

<b>Cost: 2 motes Mins: Appearance 2, Essence 2Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Hybrid, Illusion
Duration: Indefinate
Prerequisites: Appearance Enduring

The character pulls her Essence around her, becoming what others want to see. As long as this Charm is active, the character becomes completely nondescript; all attempts to notice her are at +3 difficulty as long as she is not standing out, and all rolls to remember her or track her have their difficulty increased by her Essence. If the character draws attention to herself, the Charm's effects fade until she is no longer being paid attention to; however, the difficulty to remember her still applies to any details about her beyond 'that person'. This Charm will not function if comboed with Obvious Charms unless the character is somewhere that such a Charm would not draw undue attention.

Shaping the Ideal Form</b>

<b>Cost: 1 mote per success Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Hybrid
Duration: Indefinate
Prerequisites: Appearance Enduring

The body is a malleable subject, and cosmetic changes are easy to create. With this Charm, the character may make a number of changes to her body, transforming herself. She may change the length or colour of her hair, the colour of her eyes, and her skin tone to anything she wishes. She may also increase or decrease her height and weight by up to 30%. This Charm adds a number of automatic successes equal to the motes spent to any disguise attempts the Lunar makes; as a rule, only 1 mote is required for most simple changes. She may not spend more motes than her Essence score.

Revelation Charms

Robin Eclipses the Wren</b>

<b>Cost: 2 motes Mins: Appearance 3, Essence 1Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Hybrid, Obvious, Social, Illusion
Duration: Indefinate
Prerequisites: Appearance Enduring

With the Lunar present, no one else seems quite as lovely. Anyone opposed to the Lunar, either socially or physically, who has an Appearance of equal to or less than the Lunar has their Appearance lowered by 1 for the duration of their interaction. This Charm affects social combat, and is likely to have subsidiary effects in social situations.

Cobra's Hypnotic Beauty</b>

<b>Cost: 4 motes Mins: Appearance 4, Essence 2Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Hybrid, Obvious, Compulsion
Duration: Indefinate
Prerequisites: Robin Eclipses The Wren

The Lunar is the most lovely thing in the world, filling their surroundings with their glory, and those around them find themselves drawn to her. In combat, any opponent who chooses to attack someone other than the Lunar suffers a die penalty equal to the Lunar's Essence due to distraction. Outside of combat, anyone who is not the Lunar gains a number of bonus dice equal to the Lunar's Essence to do anything subtle or unnoticed, but suffers the Lunar's Essence as a die penalty on all actions designed to focus the spotlight on them. The Lunar suffers her Essence as a die-pool penalty on all attempts to do something unnoticed.

Tiger's Roar Transformation</b>

<b>Cost: 2 motes Mins: Appearance 2, Essence 2Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Hybrid, Obvious
Duration: Indefinate
Prerequisites: Appearance Enduring

The character's voice cuts through any sound, carrying clearly and easily. The Lunar can be heard as though there was no other noise present, regardless of how much noise there actually is.

Comments =

Yeah, Appearance Charms! Invisible Gift of the Moon seems superior to the Night Caste anima power. Also, it's not clear how it works in hybrid combos. Does it increase the commit cost? Although it still seems a bit cheap for having people ignore the fact that your a giant goat-man or something. Maybe: Negates social penalties caused by the Lunars appearance? Ignoring negative penalties seems fine, but having people not remember it seems...odd. I mean, that's weirder than Arcane Fate. Which is bad enough. This does explain why Solars get top billing. Their the only ones people can remember. :) -FlowsLikeBits

Well, yes and no. It's much more limited than the Night Caste power; it doesn't prevent peripheral increases, and it does have to be committed. The idea is that the Lunar is forcing you to think that his crazy wings are just normal, in the same way that the Tell forces people to think things. I don't know that I explained it well, though. I imagine a conversation after the Lunar uses his Charms would go something like this.

Person 1 (Low MDV): Wow, that guy was some crazy fighter. Did you see the way he diced those people up?
Person 2 (High MDV): Fighter? Dude!! He was, like, eight feet tall! And he had CLAWS! AND WINGS!!
Person 1: And?
Person 2: That was clearly a Lunar Anathema, you idiot!
Person 1: Holy crap! Really?! Aaaah!
It's not that you don't notice the claws and the like. They just don't seem any more important than anything else, and aren't deserving of special mention, and your descriptions will make people say "Huh." instead of "Gah!".
In a Hybrid Combo, you would have to pay 2 motes for every other Charm in the combo, which builds up fast. This is more likely to be activated with one or two powers that are inherently low-key. *sighs* I probably have to sit down and re-work it. - FrivYeti

Why not just out-and-out say it's an illusion that makes people think you did it without shapechanging? I like the description of the high MDV person versus the low MDV person. I think all the charm text lacks is that kind of description of what it looks like when giant rippling muscles or a nine-foot-tall bull man with wings and claws aren't obvious. - IanPrice

I was under the impression that people would not see the obviousnes. Also, it's not clear how the mote increase would stack with the mote decrease for hybrid combos. I.e, is it actually .5 motes per charm? Or 2. If it just means peopls don't mind the fact that your an 8 foot tall killing machine with wings and fangs, that seems fine. (The PG had an artifact that did something similar, the Necklace of Solar Charisma. )

Of course, the whole Obvious keyword is used rather strangely in the core book, so I can see the problem. -FlowsLikeBits

After some consideration, I've decided to remove this Charm entirely and make something more streamlined in the ordinary Appearance tree. Saves trouble that way. Thanks for the thoughts. - FrivYeti