DBSInfernalCharmsLinguistics

Linguistics Charms

April Fools! I've archived the pretend tree over at DBSInfernalCharmsHumour, if you'd like to see it.

Linguistics Charms, Really

The theme for this Charm tree is deception and confusion.

Thousand Twisted Tongues

• Cost: 3 motes
• Duration: One scene
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Linguistics: 2
• Minimum Essence: 2
• Prerequisite Charms: None

The Infernal opens a person’s mind to all languages past and present, swamping them with knowledge. Unless they block off the effects of this Charm by succeeding at a Temperance roll, the target of this charm speaks in a thousand different lingos, pulling words from languages hither and thither as they try to speak or write. Others can understand their intent only with a successful Intelligence + Linguistics check at difficulty 5. If someone succeeds at their Temperance check against this Charm, it will not affect them again for a year and a day.

Hysteria Beckoning Cry

• Cost: 6 motes, 1 Willpower
• Duration: One scene
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Linguistics: 3
• Minimum Essence: 3
• Prerequisite Charms: Thousand Twisted Tongues

The Infernal reveals the cornucopia of different modes of speech to himself, imbuing his jumbled words with vile Essence so that they catch in the ears and minds of those about him. He loses the ability to meaningfully communicate for the remainder of the scene. However, all who hear his jumbled words are affected as though by Thousand Twisted Tongues.

Doctrine Of Shattered Glass

• Cost: 6 motes, 1 Willpower
• Duration: Indefinite
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Linguistics: 4
• Minimum Essence: 3
• Prerequisite Charms: Hysteria Beckoning Cry

Charging his words with malicious Essence until they can shatter fragile mortal psyches, the Infernal relates his message to a listener, profound or prosaic. Whilst the Essence for the Charm remains committed, whatever the target tries to say, write, signal or otherwise communicate mirrors that message as closely as possible. Exalts and other magical beings may ignore this effect by spending a point of temporary Willpower.

Creeping Script Method

• Cost: 6 motes
• Duration: One scene
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Linguistics: 2
• Minimum Essence: 2
• Prerequisite Charms: None

With a subtle inflection of the tongue or brush, the Infernal imbues his words with a life of their own. They twist to reflect the listener or viewer; the Infernal states a category of people (such as “those branded with the Sigil Of Enslavement”, “the woman I know as Ashanti”, or “those who read the passage by moonlight”). To these people the words are given their true meaning; to all others, they bear another message, chosen by the Infernal. One use of this Charm affects all communication by the Infernal for the remainder of the scene, or whatever writing they can make within it.

Warped Inflection Technique

• Cost: 2 motes, 1 Willpower
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Linguistics: 3
• Minimum Essence: 3
• Prerequisite Charms: Creeping Script Method

The Infernal embeds shards of some fierce emotion into his words, invisible to all but those who can see the roiling Essence patterns that congeal about them. Hatred, anger, lust and envy are all possible, but calm and considerate emotions such as contentment or love are not. Unless the listener or reader spends a point of temporary Willpower, they are filled with the feeling in question as they receive the message; most would associate this onrush with the subject matter unless given reason not to.

Contagion Of Words Technique

• Cost: 15 motes, 1 Willpower
• Duration: Instant
• Type: Simple
• Minimum Linguistics: 5
• Minimum Essence: 4
• Prerequisite Charms: Hysteria Beckoning Cry, Creeping Script Method

With a slew of foul Essence, the Infernal gives life to a message of his choice, long or short, spoken or written. Thereafter, it acts as though a disease, spreading through minds as it is spoken and warping other works as it is written. Anyone hearing the message with a Willpower equal to or lower than the Infernal’s Essence will repeat it whenever given a socially viable chance to do so, unless they repress it each time with a point of temporary Willpower. If the message is written down, it twists the words around it to reflect it, altering first the scroll or tome upon which it is written, before those nearby it. Automata are treated as having a Willpower equal to the permanent Essence of their creator to determine whether they are affected.

Eliminating the message from a person’s mind is treated as curing a Second Circle disease, with a mundane treatment difficulty of 10 and magical treatment difficulty equal to the Infernal’s Essence score. Eliminating the message from an infected library typically invovles fire, and lots of it.

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Feedback

Contagion of Words Tech seems a little weak... Willpower equal to or lower than permanant Essence... You know even elite extras (what will usually be the only extras worth worrying about) have willpower 5... -ANYONE- who's anyone has willpower 5... And, noone cares about the unnamed hordes, do they? (The setting don't, that's for sure.) Anyway... Might I suggest something like Essence + 2?
-- Darloth

I really like this tree. It's a very nice set of charms for a nastily difficult ability to create charms for. Why not just make it "Under the Exalted's Willpower" and just make it really nasty. It's the penultimate charm anyways so why not make it suitibly badass. You can add a stipulation that it doesn't work on people whose essence exceeds the Exalted's (because that's usually how these things work), and that seems more useful in terms of powerlevel. Terrifyingly creepy what you can do with that one. -- Halloween

The Charm is initially intended to affect only worthless extras, but in a suitably horrendous manner. Imagine the coolness quotient of entering a village where every man, woman and child tells you how you're going to die at the hands of your Infernal foe, or infernalist dogma spreading insidiously across the entire South until the very streets ring with blasphemous cries. I wouldn't actually want anyone who's anyone being affected by the Charm, to be honest... but I'm open to negotiation. The Charm's intent considered, is it still underpowered? ...DeathBySurfeit

Why don't you remove the mechanical effect entirely? Just say it affects extras and anyone else relatively unimportant that the ST decides should be affected? There are certainly other 'narrative only' charms out there, and I don't think you're going to be able to mechanically balance an effect like this to please everyone. Perhaps you could leave the current rules as a guideline, but I'd suggest migrating to narrative effect.
-- Darloth