LunarsAreFine/FairFolkCharms

Lunars (and Eclipse and Moonshadow castes) can make use of graces forged for them by Fair Folk. This allows them to fulfill the prerequisites for and use Fair Folk charms and allows them to compete in shaping combat. Lunars can also use glamour sorcery, adjurations and behemoths. This page details canon ways in which this opens opportunities for lunars.

The rulings that allow this can be found on:

• Fair Folk, pg 106 – Using graces
• Fair Folk, pg 109 – Heart grace for creatures of creation
• Fair Folk, pg 185 – Grace forging charms
• Fair Folk, pg 205 – Buying glamour sorcery
• Fair Folk, pg 208 – Buying adjurations
• Fair Folk, pg 209 – Buying behemoths
• Fair Folk, pg 141 – Charms to cure ravishment
• Fair Folk, pg 24 – Entering freeholds with Ritual of Lunar Stability
• Fair Folk, pg 187 – Gaping Virtue Mouth allows any exalt to be altered to use feeding charms (see Feeding below)

Some of the rules mentioned above leave some space for interpretation and inference. The following are assumed:

• When a grace is forged for a lunar, the lunar gains a corresponding Grace Trait at 1; if they want to improve this, they must increase it with xp themselves.
• It is rare for a lunar to own his or her own graces, as by default they belong to the raksha that created them. Note that graces can be traded, destroyed or handed to others without relinquishing ownership.
• A Heart Grace cannot be formed by a raksha for a lunar. Lunars (and other exalts) already have an intrinsic heart grace of 3 (Fair Folk, pg 109). This implies that Exalts allowed to use Fair Folk charms can use charms that require only Heart without any other graces being needed. These are:
  • Imposition of Law
  • Bastion of the Self (Grace)
  • Most of the shaping dodge and resistance charms

Forging Your Own Graces

Lunars with a Ring Grace Trait can learn charms to forge the other graces. In theory this would allow such a lunar to form his or her own Sword, Cup and Ring Graces. This requires learning the following charms (in order):

• Awakened Dram Manufacture
• Shape-Forged Servant
• Forging the Heart Grace
• Forging the Ring/Sword/Cup Grace

Gossamer

Only charms that use gossamer can effect Creation, so unless a lunar just wants to be good at shaping combat, she'll need to secure a source of gossamer to make use of Fair Folk charms. While lunars have the advantage of regaining essence automatically, gaining gossamer is much harder for lunars than raksha, as many of the ways raksha can gain gossamer aren't open to lunars. Worse, the few charms that allow the creation of gossamer are fairly far down the charm trees. Some of these charms are:

• Spectactular Insanity
• Bedlam Masterworks
• Oneiromantic Conjuration
• Demesne-Farming Art
• Luminous Exhalation
• These Dreams Are Clay
• Worker's Gift
• Oath Gossamer
• Eight-Corner Ring Binding

In theory, through diplomacy, favors, threats, blackmail, good role-playing, etc. a Lunar might be able to gain a tithe of gossamer from someone, providing the Gossamer background (pg. 110). For example, suppose a lunar conquers a village and allows Fair Folk to feed on the poplace in exchange for gossamer. Raksha that feed on valor might be allowed to hang around soaking up the vibe while the lunar and his beastman army fight.

Feeding

It is possible to be able to regain essence via feeding as raksha do. The charm Gaping Virtue Mouth allows anyone who knows it it to transform the grace of the target into a feeding grace, which allows access to the cup feeding charms and the regeneration of Essence naturally when in the Wyld of a Freehold. Such graces are also treated as Major Graces for purposes of charm experience costs.

Note that Gaping Virtue Mouth works on the graces of others, so it would be possible to convince/coerse a raksha who knew it into modifying a grace you own in this way without learning the charm yourself. In principle, there is nothing stopping the intrinsic Heart grace of any exalt from being altered in this way.

Useful Charms

While not all Fair Folk charms are useful to a lunar, those that are usually meet at least one of the following criteria:

• Provides an ability the lunar cannot get otherwise
• Lasts a very long time (usually for a story)
• Complements lunar abilities

Defensive

The Fair Folk version of Ox-Body Technique provides story-long additional health levels, including -0 levels.

Mutations

Unlike lunars, raksha have mutation charms that can be purchased in a way that makes their effect last only for a story. Since, in Creations, a "story" lasts longer than it does in the Wyld, this can be a huge benefit to lunars.

In addition, Fair Folk have access to many more types of mutation charms, such as those that reduce multiple action penalties for a story or permanent charms that add specialties that don't count against the specialty limit or increase running speed.

There is some question as to if tatooed lunars can actually use mutation charms. The lunar book (pg 121) describes how lunar tattoos make them immune to being shaped by outside forces: "This immunity is complete and involuntary and works regardless of the Lunar's desires. If the Lunar is to change his shape, he must change it himself through his natural shapechanging abilities." Clearly, Shaping the Ideal Form and other lunar shapeshifting charms are intended to fit this defintion of "natural shapechanging abilities". Since Fair Folk mutations do not have to be permanent, they function much like lunar shapeshifting charms do, so an argument could be made that lunars can use them as well. Further, these mutation charms are not like mutations from being exposed to the Wyld, in that is the charm caster's will making the change, not an outside influence. On the other hand, the same might be said about sorcery that changes your own shape, yet lunars cannot use such sorcery. Even so, Lunars can explicitly use Adjurations (see below), which allow them to buy mutations as well. Ultimately, it's a storyteller choice. I tend to go for the "whatever is cooler" choice.

Glamour Sorcery

Lunars can buy glamour sorcery with the Artifact backround. This may be the easiest way for lunars to use fair folk charms, though there is still a gossamer cost. Properly crafted glamour sorcery goes a long way in turning lunars into the illusionists they are supposed to be, particularly sorcery with Undetectible Lie built into it.

To what uses can lunars put glamour sorcery?

Adjurations

Lunars can buy adjurations with the Artifact backround.

Examples here would be good.

Behemoths

Lunars can buy behomoths with the Artifact background.

More examples needed

Comments

Looking at what's here, I figured that I, as a Fair Folk enthusiast and total blank when it comes to Lunars, should give my $0.02. Mostly story-stuff.

-Giving yourself Graces (or having them made) is good if you want to work in some of the more neat Raksha charms (Grace of the Infinitely-Revolving Spheres comes to mind!), but there's the drawback that the Lunar eventually becomes a decent bit more 'off' as those Graces grow, since a part of them is very much of the Wyld. That seems to be little more than a roleplayed aspect, but I could see followers getting a bit wary of their leader as she gets more and more strange over the years.

-Gossamer is indeed an issue. The quickest fix, unfortunately, involves invoking Bedlam. Bedlam is nasty, nasty stuff and can potentially cripple the character for some time. Sure, Spectacular Insanity and Bedlam Masterworks are a decent harvest source... but you're still in Bedlam. Also, getting to the Feeding goss-harvesters requires having Ravishing the Created Form, and there's no telling how people would react to a PC/NPC, knowing they can eat Virtues and WP like a faerie.

-Raksha Ox-Body does have the drawback that it, aside from the raw -2 version, costs Gossamer to power. Still, a storylong isn't all that bad, if you need HLs in a jiffy.

-Glamour Sorcery... simple affair. Crowd control. A well-built spell can easily be used to make mortal (and potentially Heroic Mortal and God-Blood) forces a non-issue, if the spell's powerful enough. Use an area-based Assumption and... oh, Undetectable Lie. And make sure your Manipulation's at 5, if not higher. Stick in a lie like, "you cannot bring yourself to cause harm" and you're set!

More when I reread and think --DarkheartOne

I don't think tattooed Lunars are able to take mutations; that's a permanent change to your body and soul, and therefore something that the tattoos are supposed to prevent. At the very least, the physical ones are right out; the others are sort of funny. However, don't underestimate what a Lunar can do with one or two Shaping Charms; luring enemies into the Wyld, they can crush them a lot faster than raksha can (also, DBT + Sword Shaping = oh emm gee.) Cup and Sword are the best graces for Lunars, because they're on even or superior footing with the Fair Folk if they use them. - FrivYeti

Integrated discussion of if lunars can use mutations into main body of text. -- Wordman

After a bit of looking, I have reversed my opinion regarding Fair Folk and mutations. Adjurations create mutation points, and Lunars can buy adjurations. Therefore, by extension, they can buy Fair Folk mutations. Ignore my previous comments to the contrary. - FrivYeti