CallMeCanon/Alchemicals/Colossus
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Colossi and Me/Patropoli
Colossus Alchemicals are bodily akin to Warstriders. For an Essence 6 Colossus, design a Common or Scout Warstrider to serve as her body. Soak bonus and Mobility penalty apply, Fatigue value and Attunement cost do not. Instead of the Strength value, for a Common Warstrider double the Alchemical's Strength score for all purposes where the Warstrider's Strength would be used, or for a Scout Warstrider multiply it by 1.5 instead (rounded up). For an Essence 7 Colossus, do the same but with a Colossal or Royal Warstrider, and multiply the Alchemical's Strength score by 2.5 (rounded up) when relevant for a Royal Warstrider, or by 3 for a Colossal Warstrider.
Me/Patropolis bodies are so expansive as to make dodging irrelevant. "The Exalt’s Essence and being diffuses through the whole settlement but remains concentrated at the core. Damage to outlying buildings or a blast that razes several blocks registers as discomfort and physical distress, but it does not actually threaten the Exalt’s life. Only the unlikely destruction of the core itself can kill the Alchemical." (The Autochthonians, pg. 74, corroborated in The Alchemicals, pg. 92) The DV, Soak, and Health Levels of the Core are largely determined by the nature of the Municipal Charm used to house it. In absence of a housing charm - such as when being transported to a new location in the city - the Core has no Dodge or Parry DV, and Soak and Health Levels as calculated normally for an Alchemical.
For Me/Patropoli, charms with the Obvious keyword are only obvious if the Charm itself is within range of whatever senses might perceive it; someone in the southern corner of a Metropolis is not necessarily aware of what is happening in its northern blocks.
Keyword: Colossus
Charms with this keyword are designed for the massive bodies of Colossal Alchemicals, and all have Essence Minimums of 6 or 7. While they can in theory be installed by Eclipse Solars or others who can learn Alchemical charms, that Exalt’s body must be altered to meet the size requirement on top of meeting all other prerequisites.
Essence 6 Colossus Charms have a minimum height requirement of 15 feet.
Essence 7 Colossus Charms have a minimum height requirement of 20 feet.
Keyword: Municipal
Municipal Charms are designed for Me/Patropoli, and all have Essence Minimums of 8 or higher. Again, it is theoretically possible for Eclipse or others to install such Charms, but they must somehow have a body the size of a city in order to do so. There will be no set of rules listed here to allow this: it is up to the Storyteller to judge whether a given charm is possible to install.
(As with the Alchemicals book, Submodules cost 6xp unless otherwise noted)
Colossus Charms
Remote Drone-Body Guidance
"[This Charm] allows [the Alchemical] to grow a replica of her former human-scale body and outfit it with a remote-controlled dummy
soulgem, allowing her to carry out operations on a human scale."
-- Manual of Exalted Power: The Alchemicals, pg. 176
Cost: Varies [4m]
Minimums: Essence 6, Perception 4
Type: Simple
Keywords: Colossus, Internal, Obvious
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Mobile Sensory Drone
The Colossus creates a copy of her old human-sized body. This process takes a number of hours based on the Essence rating of the copy. The cost and other effects of this Charm also vary with the Essence rating of the copy. This Charm can make a Drone-Body of up to Essence 3, or 4 with the Core Transplant Submodule. Me/Patropoli cannot use this Charm; instead they must use its Municipal upgrade, Avatar-Launching Silo.
The Drone-Body functions as a human-sized Mobile Sensory Drone, and may benefit from the “Playback” and “Upgraded Senses” Submodules if they are installed for that charm. It is automatically considered to have the Communication Submodule. The Essence 1 version may benefit from the "Autonomous" Submodule, but the others are too complex to be run by automated subroutines, and can only dodge attacks or flee from anti-scrying magic unless given direct instruction as normal. Its mote pools are calculated using its Essence rating and half the Willpower and Virtue ratings of the Alchemical, rounded up.
Controlling the Drone-Body requires the Alchemical's entire attention. While she remains fully aware of her own body, she cannot use it and the Drone-Body in the same action, even with a flurry or a Charm. Any time she spends an action controlling the Drone-Body, her own DV becomes 0 until her next action, and cannot be raised except by Charms that are explicit exceptions to this rule. Reintegrating the Drone-Body takes a number of minutes equal to the number of hours it took to construct.
The Drone-Body’s Strength, Dexterity, Stamina, and Appearance start at one dot each, and the Alchemical may distribute a number of dots among them depending on which version of the Charm is used at the time of the Drone-Body’s creation; these dots remain fixed until and unless the Drone-Body is reintegrated and then reconstructed from scratch. For all other Attributes, Abilities, Virtues, and Willpower, it uses the Alchemical’s ratings.
Any Charm Slots equipped to the Drone-Body may be outfitted with any charms the Alchemical owns and has access to, and for which the Drone-Body meets all prerequisites. Each version of this Charm transfers a different number of Charm Slots from the Alchemical to the Drone-Body, so long as she has them to spare. At minimum, her Colossus body must keep enough Charm Slots to hold this Charm and all its prerequisites. As part of using this Charm, the Alchemical may use banked Experience points to buy new Charm Slots.
So long as the Alchemical has Perfected Lotus Matrix installed and her consciousness is actively controlling the Drone-Body, it may use any Martial Arts Charms the Alchemical knows.
The Drone-Body has its own Health-Levels and damage track, calculated as normal for an Alchemical of its Attributes and Essence Rating. It can never have any Dying Health Levels. If the Drone-Body dies, treat it as this Charm being amputated. If the Alchemical’s consciousness was inhabiting the Drone-Body at the time of its death, she takes one level of Aggravated damage.
The lethal health levels paid as part of the price to construct the Drone-Body should be considered "committed health levels", and cannot be healed by any means until the Drone-Body has been fully reintegrated, at which point they are healed automatically. If the Drone-Body dies, the committed health levels do not heal automatically, but may begin to heal normally.
Under no circumstances may any use of any version of this Charm by a Colossus result in more than one Drone-Body active at a time. Only Municipal Avatars can act simultaneously to one another.
Essence 1:
Cost: 10m, 1wp, (1lhl), 5 hours
The Alchemical may distribute 4 dots among the Drone-Body’s physical Attributes.
It may have up to one Dedicated Charm Slot and one General Charm Slot.
Its mote pools are halved, rounded down.
Essence 2:
Cost: 15m, 2wp, (2lhl), 10 hours
The Alchemical may distribute 6 dots among the Drone-Body’s physical Attributes.
It may have up to three Dedicated Charm Slots and two General Charm Slots.
Essence 3:
Cost: 25m, 3wp, (4lhl), 20 hours
The Alchemical may distribute 10 dots among the Drone-Body’s physical Attributes.
It may have up to six Dedicated Charm Slots and four General Charm Slots.
Submodules:
Long Range Frequency (2xp)
Double the range of the Drone-Body.
Heavy Equipment (4xp)
Double the Drone-Body’s number of allowed Charm Slots.
Core Transplant
The Alchemical may transfer her own Core into the Drone-Body, making it the semi-permanent home for her consciousness, removing the distance limitation and making it immune to any attempt to force her consciousness back to her “true body” such as protection against scrying; for most intents and purposes, the Drone-Body becomes her true body for the duration of its use. This submodule adds a fourth version of the base Charm:
Essence 4:
Cost: 20m, 3wp, (10m, 4lhl), 25 hours
The Drone-Body uses the Alchemical’s ratings for all Attributes, though any with base rating 6 or greater are treated as though they are base rating 5. She may transfer any number of Charm Slots from her Colossus body to the Drone-Body, with the exception of the ones holding this Charm and all its prerequisites. If she wishes to perform Martial Arts Charms, she must bring Perfected Lotus Matrix with her to the Drone-Body.
The Drone-Body may now have Dying Health-Levels, but the Colossus Body loses any it had for the duration of the Charm. If the Colossus is destroyed, the Drone-Body is treated as the Alchemical’s true and only body until she can get to a Vats complex and regrow her Colossus body, which requires half the time, effort, and materials that it took to ascend to Colossus form in the first place. If the Drone-Body dies, the Alchemical dies.
The Alchemical brings her full mote pool with her in the Drone-Body. This version of the Charm costs 20m to activate, and the Alchemical must keep another 10m committed to the Colossus Body for the duration of the Charm, in addition to the committed motes for all Charms equipped to each body. She may not willingly decommit these 10 motes, and if they are ever forcibly decommitted for any reason, the Colossus body begins taking unsoakable Aggravated damage at a rate of 1 level per 5 hours. Damage taken this way cannot be healed by any means until she can both reunite her two bodies and recommit the motes, at which point the damage stops accruing. Once her bodies are fully reintegrated, she may freely decommit the motes.
Automated Proximity Alarm
Cost: -- [1m]
Minimums: Essence 6, Perception 5
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Colossus
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite Charms: Remote Drone-Body Guidance
This Charm consists of various sensors placed around the Alchemical's body, wired into her nervous system and musculature. She keeps half her DV during actions where she controls her Drone-Body, the sensors activating muscles to dodge or parry automatically. Her consciousness is alerted to any attack the sensors can perceive, and she has the option to keep her focus on the Drone-Body, allowing her Colossus-body to defend itself with its half-DV until her next action, or she may reflexively pull her consciousness back to the Colossus body, allowing her to apply her full DV to the attack and to use its Charms. However, doing so sets the Drone-Body's DV to zero until the next action she uses on controlling the Drone-Body, its automated subroutines shorted out by the unexpected removal of her consciousness.
Note: This Charm has limited compatibility with the Core Transplant Submodule. When using the Essence 4 version, the Alchemical does not have the option of reflexively returning her consciousness to the Colossus body. She is alerted to the attack, but must physically return to the Colossus body before she can do anything about it. The Colossus body is able to apply its halved DV as normal, but cannot otherwise react to stimuli.
Submodules
Springloaded Defensive Mechanism (Dexterity 5, 2xp)
This submodule improves the musculature connected to the sensors such that the Alchemical keeps her full DV while operating the Drone-Body. She must still return her consciousness to the Colossus-Body to use any of its other Charms, though.
Integrated Mobile Sanctum
"[This Charm] folds space within the Alchemical’s body, creating a large staging area carved out of Elsewhere that allows
the Exalt to act as a mobile troop transport or even to outfit her body with a fully staffed factory-cathedral."
-- Manual of Exalted Power: The Alchemicals, pg. 176
Cost: 1m+[2m]
Minimums: Essence 7, Intelligence 4
Type: Permanent(Reflexive)
Keywords: Colossus, Internal, (Obvious)
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Technomorphic Integration Engine
This Charm creates within the Alchemical a small foreshadowing of the Me/Patropolis she will one day become. The aesthetics of the Sanctum reflect this; it exists as a large building or small neighborhood in a shape and style that represents a microcosm of her eventual Municipal self. As such, she may install one Essence 8 Municipal Charm inside the Sanctum as though it were an Essence 7 Colossus Charm (so long as it has the Internal keyword and she meets all other prerequisites). She may also store an amount of people and objects within the Sanctum as could reasonably be stored in a large building or small neighborhood. Bringing something or someone into or out of the Sanctum is a Reflexive action with the Obvious keyword and a cost of 1m. The Storyteller may change the type and length of action required, and even increase the mote cost, based on the item in question.
Any number of Charm Slots may be relocated to within the Sanctum, and any Charms with the Internal keyword may be installed there. Such Charms lose the Obvious Keyword for observers outside the Sanctum, however their effects occur where they are installed. Common sense and Storyteller ruling apply.
This Charm does not have Remote Drone-Body Guidance as a prerequisite, but if that Charm is installed, this one changes it in some important ways. Firstly, that Charm and its Charm Slot are relocated to within the Sanctum, and lose the Obvious keyword. Secondly, the Health Levels spent on creating Drone-Bodies are no longer committed, but may be healed as normal (this means reintegrating a Drone-Body no longer heals Health Levels). Thirdly, a total Essence rating of Drone-Bodies of up to the Alchemical's Essence x2 may be stored in the Sanctum indefinitely, though only one may be out and active at a time.
Submodules:
Civil Engineering
This submodule allows the Alchemical to install one more Essence 8 Municipal Charm inside the Sanctum as though it were an Essence 7 Colossus Charm (again, so long as it has the Internal keyword and she meets all other prerequisites).
Municipal Charms
Modular Construction Unit
"Construction of Municipal Charms involves vast city projects with hundreds of workers, comparable to building a manse."
-- Manual of Exalted Power: The Alchemicals, pg. 233
Specific examples of Municipal Charms are provided below, but this system may be used to more easily build custom Municipal Charms, using the rules for constructing a Manse presented in Chapter 2 of Oadenol's Codex.
Cost: Varies [2-4m]
Minimums: Essence 8-10
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Municipal, (Internal)
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
The base version of this Charm creates a structure equivalent to a level 1 Manse. This is minimum Essence 8, installation cost 2. It can also be used to create a level 2 or 3 Manse, with Essence minimums 9 and 10 and installation cost 3 and 4, respectively. Follow the "Manses Point-by-Point" instructions in Oadenol's Codex, starting on page 63, to design this Municipal Charm. This Charm automatically sacrifices all Hearthstone levels for Construction Points, and may never under any circumstances produce a Hearthstone. It also does not produce Essence and cannot be attuned to (any effects that require attunement instead simply require the approval of the Patropolis the Charm is installed in). Negative traits may be added, but no additional construction points are gained from them. Positive traits may be added to charms of a Manse Level equal to or greater than (Trait Level -2).
Keep in mind that the flavor of these structures is not that of geomancy, but of Autochthonian Magitech. Effects that in manses are produced by harmonizing Dragon Lines, in Municipal Charms are performed by gears and wires and machines and electrical essence.
Make sure to consult your Storyteller in the process of this design; depending on the features, she may impose Attribute minimums or Charm prerequisites or add Keywords (such as "Obvious"). The Storyteller should at the very least judge what Attribute this particular Unit is aspected to, to determine whether it can go in a Dedicated Charm Slot or if it requires a General Charm Slot.
For two Construction Points, the Unit gains the Internal Keyword (requires Storyteller Approval).
For four Construction Points, the Unit is able to house the Patropolis' Core.
Submodules
Enhanced Construction [1m] (4xp)
This submodule raises the Manse level of the base Charm by 1. This submodule may only be installed twice per Unit.
Sample Charm: Essence Artillery Turret
Total Exp Cost: 6xp
Mote Cost: Varies [3m]
Minimums: Essence 9, Dexterity 7
Submodules: None
Manse Rating: 2
Construction Points: 6
Integrated Essence Artillery: 4 points
Limited Mobility: 2 points
Sample Charm: Factory Cathedral
Total Exp Cost: 14xp
Mote Cost: Varies [4m]
Minimums: Essence 8, Intelligence 9
Submodules: Enhanced Construction x2
Manse Rating: 3
Construction Points: 9
Factory Cathedral: 5 points
Maintenance 4: 0 points
Internal: 2 points
Archive: 2 points
Vats Complex
"More primitive equivalents existed in Ages past, but today’s standard vats complex is an Essence 8 Municipal Charm. Every patropolis has at least one, and some as many as five."
-- Manual of Exalted Power: The Alchemicals, pg. 92
Cost: -- [5m]
Minimums: Essence 8
Type: Permanent
Keywords: Municipal, Internal, Obvious
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
One instance of this Charm is produced automatically in the process of becoming an Essence 8 Metropolis, and does not take up a Charm Slot. Additional instances must be built and installed as normal. An Essence 8 Metropolis may have up to 3 total instances of this Charm, Essence 9 may have 4, and Essence 10 5.
Avatar-Launching Silo
"This Municipal Charm is a staging bay containing one or more replicas of the Alchemical’s former Colossus and human-scale bodies. Because patropoli and metropoli cannot afford to divert their full consciousness away from maintaining the cities they have become, they spin off one full subsidiary memory-facet of their former lives to guide each Avatar-body they choose to empower. While an Avatar is still fundamentally the Alchemical—it has all of her skills, memories, Motivation and Intimacies—it is more strongly colored by the past life imbuing it than the Alchemical’s normal personality is, making Avatars notoriously eccentric and difficult to anticipate."
-- Manual of Exalted Power: The Alchemicals, pg. 176
Cost: Varies [5m]
Minimums: Essence 8
Type: Permanent(Reflexive)
Keywords: Municipal, Obvious
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Remote Drone-Body Guidance
This Charm upgrades its prerequisite for Municipal use, and functions mostly the same way, with one major difference: Instead of a temporary Drone-Body, this Charm creates a permanent Avatar. She cannot shift her consciousness into or out of it; rather, she creates a permanent and separate consciousness for the Avatar.
The Alchemical may not create an Avatar whose Essence rating is greater than her own minus three. Using this Charm to create an Avatar costs an amount of Temporary Willpower equal to half the Avatar's Essence rating rounded up, and a number of motes equal to (Avatar's Essence x5)+5. The process of creating an Avatar takes a number of hours equal to (Avatar's Essence x3). Once an Avatar has been created, it may be stored in this Charm indefinitely, and deployed as a Reflexive action.
Rules for creating an Avatar are similar to creating a new Alchemical character, with the following differences:
For the Avatar's Caste, its marked Caste and Favored Attributes, the base ratings of its Social and Mental Attributes (except Appearance), its base Ability ratings and Specialties, and its base Virtue and Willpower ratings, use the base ratings of the Metropolis character. Note that Abilities and Attributes are capped at the Avatar's Essence Rating or 5, whichever is higher.
For the Avatar's Physical Attributes and Appearance, distribute a number of dots among them equal to (Avatar's Essence x2)+2
For its Charm Slots, the Alchemical may transfer up to (Avatar's Essence x2) General Charm Slots and (Avatar's Essence x3) Dedicated Charm Slots from herself to the Avatar. If the Heavy Equipment Submodule is installed for Remote Drone-Body Guidance, it also applies here. These Charm Slots may be outfitted with any Charms the Alchemical owns and has access to. (An Avatar may never install Remote Drone-Body Guidance.)
The Avatar starts with the Background "Patron•••••" (as Scroll of Heroes, pg129), with available Backgrounds limited to (and capped at) the Alchemical's Backgrounds (and ratings), but useable any number of times per session so long as she might reasonably have access to them. Other than that, she does not start with any Backgrounds of her own.
The Avatar does not get any Bonus Points, however the Alchemical may spend banked Experience Points on the Avatar during the process of its creation (though in general it would be more efficient to spend them on herself before creating the Avatar; the most notable exception to this is if she wants to buy more Physical Attribute dots for the Avatar than allotted by the creation process).
(Note that the Avatar has its own Mote Pools, Health Levels, and Damage track, calculated normally.)
After this point the Avatar's traits are no longer linked to the Alchemical's traits, and they do not increase together. The Alchemical may spend Experience Points on the Avatar as though it were an Alchemical in its own right, however Avatars may not increase in Essence level; if a higher Essence Avatar is desired, it must be built separately. The Alchemical may not own more than her Essence rating Avatars, and the total Essence ratings among them may not exceed her own Essence rating x3.
Essence Reservoir
Cost: 1m [5m]
Minimums: Essence 8
Type: Permanent(Simple)
Keywords: Municipal, Internal
Duration: Permanent(Instant)
Prerequisite Charms: None
This Charm acts as a battery for storing and retrieving motes of essence. Its pool is calculated as the Alchemical's Peripheral Essence pool is. Motes stored in this pool may be committed, but may not be used as part of an action. Any number of motes may be transferred between the Reservoir and the Alchemical's Personal mote pool as a Simple action, Speed 5, with a one mote surcharge for the transfer (this surcharge must be paid with Peripheral essence). Essence 8 and 9 Metropoli may only have one of this Charm installed; at Essence 10, a second installation is permitted.
Submodules
Essence Generator
The Essence Reservoir regains essence as though it were itself an Exalt. Transferring motes counts as activity, but it is otherwise always considered to be at full rest.
Heavy Reserves
Double the size of the Reservoir's mote pool.
Material Stockpile
The Reservoir gains the ability to store 5 points of Temporary Willpower, 5 Health Levels, and Resources••••• worth of assorted Magical Materials. These pools may be filled and withdrawn from in any combination or amount for the standard 1m surcharge per deposit or withdrawal (paid separately for each pool accessed, though all four may be accessed as part of the same Simple action). If the Essence Generator Submodule is installed, these pools fill themselves at a rate of one point per day. If the Heavy Reserves Submodule is installed, the Willpower and Health Level pools each increase to 7, and a second pool of Resources••••• is added.
Perpetulite Highway System
(Credit for this name and idea go to Jasper Fforde.)
Cost: Varies [2m]
Minimums: Essence 8, Perception 6
Type: Permanent(Simple)
Keywords: Municipal, Obvious
Duration: Permanent(One Scene)
Prerequisite Charms: None
This Charm covers the entire patropolis' road system with a self-repairing organoplastoid that has various effects and abilities. Passively, it gives anyone traveling on it a 1.5x speed boost, and any type of travel on it other than a sustained sprint causes no fatigue, and even a sustained sprint incurs half the fatigue it normally would.
For one mote, the metropolis can cause colored lines to appear on the roads for a scene, starting and ending wherever she chooses. This is most useful for directing travelers to various destinations within the city, but can be used for any purpose the Alchemical desires.
For two motes, the patropolis can increase the speed boost to 2x for a scene.
For five motes, the patropolis can cause the Perpetulite to lash out for a scene, the organoplastoid attacking any who set foot on it. The roads become difficult terrain, movement speed is halved, and each round spent on the Perpetulite inflicts one point of unsoakable Bashing damage. Any round spent on the Perpetulite in the same place as the previous round inflicts Lethal instead of Bashing damage.
Submodules
Public Interface Terminals (2xp)
At each road intersection is a kiosk terminal where anyone authorized by the Alchemical may activate any of the three Perpetulite abilities. Such activations require the user to spend the necessary motes, and only affect an area in a one block radius of the terminal used to do so.
Localized Activation (4xp)
For an additional mote, the patropolis can activate the Perpetulite's second or third abilities in specific locations in the city, rather than everywhere at once.
