Thus Spake Zaraborgstrom/WhenAndWhichLimitBreak
*giggle*
I was hoping someone who just got the rules would answer, since I haven't really looked at them since last year. Worse, I gave away two of my author's copies and can't find the third right this second. :)
- Do elementals and demons whose will is broken through traditional means (crushing their will instead of tricking them) suffer from limit breaks?
The weaknesses are the natural fracture points in a demon's soul. You can't "generically" break someone; they're going to break at a point of weakness. Summoning demons with a specific weakness is just a good way to know both how to break them and what that means.
If you want to just extinguish their will utterly, then you want the Slave template. It's pretty much designed to fit that idea---the creature has no Willpower, and the only thing that can make it get weird on you is when external events, like Solar Charms, *force* it to rekindle the fire of identity.
- Is there a benefit to tricking the demon or elemental instead of just overpowering it, aside from stunt dice?
Taking advantage of the demon's weakness, under all but the weirdest circumstances, is going to keep it from doing Virtue channels or spending Willpower for automatic success on the summoning rolls. This in turn lets you keep your summoning cost and chances sane. :)
- Do demons and elementals bound through the use of the Sidereal Charm Terminal Sanction suffer from limit breaks? How about gods and ghosts bound with the Charm?
That isn't summoning; it's a variation on what p. 290, Exalted, talks about in the first full complete paragraph in the right column. When a spirit's body dies, it becomes vulnerable to enslavement by spirits; Terminal Sanction just extends that to Sidereal Exalts. :) (Similarly, in reference to that Charm, that page is where 'manifest' is defined.)
That said, I'd probably recommend using the Limit templates if you're going to bind someone as a year-and-a-day servitor.
- Can a bound demon be ordered to return to Malfeas prior to the expiration of the binding effect, ending it's service early? Would this be an effective way to rid one's self of a demon who has built up limit?
If the demon is normally capable of returning to Malfeas on its own, then yes. IIRC, most First Circles can't. On the other hand, if you have a Second Circle demon, it's probably worth your time to reduce its Limit.
- If a Sidereal defeats a demon or elemental bound by another sorcerer after successfully using Terminal Sanction on the spirit, can he automatically take control or would he have to win a contest of wills with the summoner first?
Again, the rules don't specify, because that's not summoning. :) Again, I'd recommend it, yah.
- Is the limit break a function of the spirit's nature, the binding magic or some combination thereof? Does the same spirit always have the same limit break?
Hm!
It's a combination. Basically, when you break their will, it's like breaking a vase: it's going to break *somewhere*. If you're a Solar Exalt with Craft Charms, you could probably draw a chart on the vase before breaking it of all the fractures and what pieces there'll be afterwards. (Assuming you know where and how hard it's going to be hit.)
If you then throw all the shards in a bag, and carry the bag with you, eventually one's going to work its way out and cut you. When and how isn't totally predictable, but it does depend somewhat on whether they're big pieces or little sharp shavings.
In short: it's as reliable as the Storyteller wants it to be. For an ecstatic, you just can't know; for a courtesan, if it's fallen into Lash of Self-Hatred every time so far, it probably won't fall into the Fury of the Scorned often, if ever. :)
- What ways do mortal summoners, and sorcerer summoners use to shed unwanted demons in lieu of being able to order them to Malfeas?
I don't know. Kill them? For most templates, sticking them in a box somewhere and waiting for them to time out naturally also works. :)
Same way you get rid of any mind-controlled slave whom you don't want any more, really. :)
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