AlchemicalSensoryandSpiritual/IsawaBrian
Omniscient Inertial Navigational Module</b>
<b>Cost:4 motes, 1 Willpower Installation Cost: 1 mote Duration: Indefinite Type: Simple Minimum Perception: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Optical Enhancement (Ultraperipheral Awareness)
The Alchemical who installs this Charm has a small box implanted at the connection between his back and his neck. On the box, a number of gems, crystals, and other translucent orbs are emplaced in a geomantically auspicious arrangement. When peripheral essence is used to fuel this charm, they will light up and blink in patterns; otherwise, they remain quiescent. Wires extend along the character's neck, cheek, and forehead, attached to the optical enhancement lenses.
This Charm has two modes, passive and active. In passive mode, which costs no essence, the Navigational matrix within the charm takes in data from the very Essence of the Alchemical's surroundings, creating a perfect map of everything within a number of yards equal to the Alchemical's Permanent Essence squared. This distance is halved if any portion of the sphere is completely blocked by a solid object, although the Module can "see" around objects if they are not completely blocked off.
The Module does not register most independently motile entities, like automatons, but will register constant features that are in motion, such as the flow of material through various tubes. Inside Autochthon, the Alchemical's attunement to the Great Maker means that any portion of the Maker that he has personally been to will always be mapped correctly. When the Great Maker's internal compartments shift and alter, their Essence will resonate with the Module and change the Alchemical's internal maps. In Creation, the Underworld, and Yu-Shan, these maps are accurate as of the last time they were taken, but do not instantly update changes. This Charm is useless in attempting to map the Wyld and may malfunction (GM's option) in Void-tainted zones of Autochthon.
In active mode, small portions of the lenses over the Alchemical's eyes receive data from the Navigational matrix-box. This does not block the Alchemical's sight by default, except in one corner of the eye where a static map of the area the Alchemical is currently in, centered around a glowing dot representing the Exalt. This map can be expanded over the entire vision of the eye to increase the level of detail shown; it can be zoomed in or out to gain perspective (although detail is lost by doing so); and the Alchemical can "switch" to a different map to plot a course. Using this Charm effectively gives a perfect success for navigation in any area that the Exalt has mapped, so long as the area has not been changed. However, for long distances, the GM may require the Alchemical to stop and consult the maps. If the area has been changed, the GM should roll for the alchemical, adjusting difficulty based on the severity of the disruption. Of course, within Autochthon, the map changes with the Great Maker. Under ordinary circumstances, the map does not display independently moving entities.
The following submodules cost 2 bonus points or 6 experience points:
Friendly Traffic Flow Enhancer: A small beacon and receiver are added to the Navigational matrix. Ordinarily, the Alchemical's display only shows himself. When the beacon is triggered, however, he will broadcast his position to other Alchemicals with active Friendly Traffic Flow Enhancers. The Alchemical may choose whether to broadcast to all units, or only to those that are currently in service to the same city/nation/organization/etc. that the Alchemical is currently attached to. The receiver will work without the beacon. On the Alchemical's map display, other beaconed Alchemicals will appear as tiny glowing dots of a color corresponding to their Material type, with their names appearing at high detail levels.
Map Storage Input/Output: An Alchemical with this submodule can connect his map storage to that of any other Alchemical with this submodule within passive mapping range. The two may then exchange maps as they so desire, with the most recent updates overwriting older maps. The exchange is effectively as swift as talking with the name of any location being the "words" necessary to communicate the map. Maps of Autochthon gained in this manner do not update unless the Alchemical goes to their locations personally.
Directional Waypoint Display: This submodule allows the Alchemical to mentally designate locations (or individuals) on the map as waypoints. Even if they are not on display on the map currently, translucent arrows will appear on the map and in the alchemical's vision in the direction of the selected waypoints. Used properly, this will permit a character to navigate without consulting higher or lower levels of the map interface.
Total Perspective Scanning Display</b>
<b>Cost:7 motes, 1 Willpower Installation Cost: 1 mote Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Minimum Perception: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Omniscient Inertial Navigational Module, Optical Enhancement (Mass-Penetrating Scan)
An enhancement of the Omniscient Inertial Navigational Module, the Total Perspective Scanning Display is installed as a number of adamant sensor-nodes implanted in auspicious positions over the Alchemical's body to create short range motion and essence sensors. Hooked in to the Omniscient Inertial Navigational Module, these adamant sensors provide much greater detail to the active display. When the active display is triggered with the Total Perspective Scanning Display rather than the usual cost, it begins to display the presence of actively mobile beings with incredible detail. For all intents and purposes, this gives the character Essence Sight and a complete view of everything within a sphere around her body equal to her permanent Essence squared.
Active Deception Dispersal Antennae</b>
<b>Cost:3 motes Installation Cost: 1 mote Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Perception: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Cross-Phase Scanner
This Charm implants a series of tiny soulsteel antennae around the character's eyes and ears. Internal wiring also links the antennae to the character's taste, scent, and major touch receptors. A rarely used Charm, the Active Deception Dispersal Antennae were primarily designed to aid members of the Grim Watch in hunting down Gremlins capable of making illusions. The Antennae are attuned to disruptions to the character's senses; whenever the character is presented with an illusion, the Alchemical may reflexively trigger their Antennae to disrupt the illusion-- either adding their Perception in dice to an existing resistance roll, or by allowing the Alchemical to roll their Perception as a "defense" against attempts that would not ordinarily permit such, canceling successes out at a one to one rate. This works as a defense against Shaping attacks. As a side benefit, the Active Deception Dispersal Antennae will inform the Alchemical if he is being affected by an illusion or glamour, although if it fails to operate, the illusion will not be stopped. This passive detection will not function if the illusion or glamour-wielding entity has a higher Essence than the Character; in such cases, the Exalt may not even notice that his motes have been depleted.
Active Deception Passive Filtration System</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Installation Cost: 1 mote Duration: One Scene Type: Simple Minimum Wits: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Cross-Phase Scanner
Similar in purpose to the Active Deception Dispersal Antennae, the Active Deception Passive Filtration System consists of a series of Moonsilver nodes, rather than Soulsteel antennae, implanted under the skin (mostly undetectable save for small, shifting lumps) designed to deal with illusions and deception. The Passive Filtration System works by absorbing the interference caused by illusions that affect the character directly, and serving as dedicated information filters for perceiving through illusions that stand on their own. This data filtration system is usually flawless, operating in parallel process to the character's ordinary perceptions. Despite the name, the Exalt must activate the Filtration System with an essence charge for it to be operable.
While this Charm is active, add the character's Wits to the difficulty of any illusions or other sensory-fooling effects to function on the Alchemical. For the purposes of effects such as certain Fae Charms that give an immunity based on comparison, the character may substitute her Wits + Essence + 2 for any such comparison.
Wyld-Obscenity Obliterator</b>
<b>Cost:3 motes Installation Cost: 1 mote Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Minimum Perception: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Active Deception Dispersal Antennae, Active Deception Passive Filtration System
This Charm is mostly unknown in modern Autochthon, having never been installed since the creation of Alchemicals. Nevertheless, it is one of the original Charms designed by Mog, Divine Minister of Authority when the first Alchemicals were manufactured. It is primarily a heritage Charm, stored away in the Divine Memory Banks against the possibility of Wyld invasion or corruption of the Great Maker. It will probably not see use until after or during the Locust Crusade when Librarian-Priests search the Great Archives for weapons against the blasphemous Fair Folk and their Wyld-tainted allies and minions. Appearing as a single, eye-shaped lens of Soulsteel and Adamant surrounded by a moonsilver disk, placed protectively over the Alchemical's soulgem (though it can be manually removed if the alchemical dies), the Wyld-Degeneration Obliterator focuses the primal essence of Law and Order inherent in all Alchemicals thanks to their connection with the Great Maker into a pulse of terribly Ordered energy. This energy is fatal to Fae and Wyld-tainted creatures, acting like the beam from an Essence Pulse Cannon, save that it only damages such foes, but to those foes it deals aggravated damage. Substitute the character's Perception for Dexterity, Clarity for Essence, and wits for Strength in the formula on p. 102 of Exalted: The Autochthonians. Only equivalents of the Guidance Ray, Internal Battery, and Precision Beam modifications exist for this Charm. Add 1 to the Alchemical's Permanent Clarity while this Charm is installed.
Counter-Degeneration Assemblage</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Installation Cost: 1 mote Duration: One Day Type: Simple Minimum Wits: 2 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Sustained Augmentation of Wits
Another "heritage" Charm that has seen little use in Autochthon proper but may, in the post-Locust Creation, prove extremely useful to Alchemicals is the Counter-Degeneration Assemblage. A series of reactive Moonsilver nodes are placed at important chakra positions on the Alchemical's body. These nodes activate in response to incoming disharmonious environmental energies, providing complete protection from Wyld energy mutation, addiction, or other twisting upon her body or mind. This does not protect against physical dangers, merely ensuring the character's form and mental health. It also provides no defense for the character's possessions (not counting Charms, of course). At the Storyteller's option, the Counter-Degeneration Assemblage may have submodules that deflect "Gremlin" or "Void" taint; or the anti-Wyld effect may be a submodule of a Charm primarily aimed at such taint, if it exists in the Storyteller's game outside of Dissonance and Gremlin Syndrome. This Charm provides no protection against Gremlin Syndrome.
Propitious Dispensation of Divine Order Module</b>
<b>Cost:8 motes, 1 Willpower Installation Cost: 1 mote Duration: One hour Type: Simple Minimum Wits: 3 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Counter-Degeneration Assemblage
This refinement of the Counter-Degeneration Assemblage allows the character to extend his personal protection to his possessions. The chakra-point protections extend with long wires along the character's chest to his arms and palms. The Alchemical may then designate, by touching or carrying, an amount of equipment equal to that which he could ordinary carry. This designated equipment, which may go no further from the Alchemical than his permanent Essence in yards (Arrows and other ranged weapons retain their protection for one round after leaving the "safe" zone) is perfectly protected from Wyld-transformation. Like its parent Charm, Propitious Dispensation of Divine Order Module may either have counter-taint Submodules for or be a counter-Wyld Submodule of "Void" or "Gremlin" taint if such things exist in the Storyteller's campaign. This Charm cannot be used on living beings except for the character's Familiar, nor does it provide any protections against Gremlin Syndrome or tainted hazards.
Kharmic Resonance Register Lens</b>
<b>Cost:5 motes Installation Cost: 1 mote Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Perception: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Cross-Phase Scanner, Sustained Augmentation of Intelligence
Disharmonious actions leave their marks on the very souls of wrong-doers. By installing crystal adamant lenses (which gives the Alchemical's eyes a minor sparkling effect, as though they were gems of the appropriate color) tied to a starmetal matrix implanted at the base of the character's skulls, the character can gain the ability to register the sins of another visually. The character makes a Perception + Investigation or Lore roll against a difficulty equal to the target's Essence. One net success will register a general sense of the character's criminal type (murderer, hoarder, or thief, for example), or if they are generally an honest citizen, what general area of sin they tend towards. Three net successes will tell the character the specific crimes or failings the character commits the most often and/or is best at, and five net successes will give a numeric readout of how many crimes the target has committed, scrolling along the edge of the Alchemical's vision.
These crimes or sins are only registered in terms of Autochthonian morality, generally. If an Alchemical is so concerned, she may use a Perception + Lore roll (at +1 difficulty over the normal target Essence) to attempt to register the target's sins or crimes in terms of the target's home culture. This Charm will not reveal the specific details of any crimes, only their number and nature. This Charm will not function on Abyssals, Deathlords, Yozis, Primordials, Demons, Fair Folk, or creatures born in the Wyld; it will function on the dead, sentient plasmids, or Wyld-tainted barbarians. If used on a creature that it cannot function on, an ERROR display will read at the edges of the character's eyesight.
The following submodules are available:
Life-Blotting Lifetime Scan This particular submodule only costs 1 experience point; if the character purchases the Kharmic Resonance Tracker at character creation, she may be assumed to have this submodule for free. The Life-Blotting Lifetime Scan draws upon the universal death created by all crimes-- the contribution to starvation, depression, or other disruptions of life and harmony that leads to the deaths of others. In the stern eyes of Mog, the Divine Minister of Authority, all are responsible for the deaths they eventually cause, in part or in whole. This submodule therefore estimates the fractional deaths based on the crimes the target has committed, reporting this number to the Alchemical. There is no hard-and-fast rule for this; stealing from a High-Class member of the Tripartite may only cause .0005 of a death; but defrauding the central resource commission that august personality is responsible may cause hundreds of .02 deaths, resulting in 1 or more "net deaths." No particular rubric is given for the use of this submodule; it is simply another axis of determining how criminal a target is and its particulars are left to the Storyteller. So long as the character gains at least 1 net success, she will be aware of the net numbers of deaths, though players who insist on too much detail in this area should be reminded that while flavor is a right in Exalted, minutiae are not.
Sinful Outcast Tracking Module This particular submodule can only be used if the character has an Omniscient Inertial Navigation Module installed; it costs 2 bonus points or 6 experience points. If it is installed, once the Alchemical has either seen a criminal who has caused at least 1 net death (see above) or been given a truthful description of both the criminal and relatively recent (no more than 1 year old) and serious (in terms of either Autochthonian or the target's culture) crimes committed by the criminal, the criminal's location (or direction, if off-map) will be displayed as a Directional Waypoint Display constantly. If the criminal is one "plane" away from the character (ie, the Alchemical is on Autochthon and the target is in Creation, or the Alchemical is in Creation and the target is in either Yu Shan or Autochthon), the waypoint will point to the nearest gate between the realms. This Submodule will not function if the target is 2 "Planes" away, nor will it function if the character is sealed off from another plane (IE, if Autochthon is not currently connected to Creation). It will also not track any entities in the Underworld (though it will function in shadowlands), Malfeas/Cytherea, or the Wyld. The criminal must be a legal target (see above). While Sinful Outcast Tracking Module is activated, the Alchemical must commit 3 motes to his resonance. If these motes are ever uncommitted, any new tracking must be started from fresh descriptions or sightings. Only one target may be tracked with a Sinful Outcast Tracking Module at any time.
This Charm inspired by Mr. Pump from Terry Pratchet's Going Postal.
Comments
I'm considering making Sinful Outcast Tracking Module a separate Charm in its own right, rather than a submodule. It's just that its effects, while powerful, are also fairly limited. -- IsawaBrian
