SolarBureaucracy/CrownedSun
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Solar Bureaucracy Charms by CrownedSun
Masterful Traders Insight
Cost: 4 motes Duration: One scene Type: Simple Min. Bureaucracy: 4 Min Essence: 2 Prereqs: Insightful Buyer Technique
When using this charm, the Exalt submerges his awareness in the essence flows that run through any place where goods are exchanged. The character gains an intuitive understanding of the suppliers, the demand for various commodities and the natural lines of barter in the marketplace. He naturally knows where everything he wants and needs is in the marketplace, how much of what he needs is present and which items are particular rare or not present in the market. This allows him to complete any trip to a market in record time, and save a fair amount of money by naturally locating the most impressive deals on the things that he needs.
The Exalt gains a number of auto-successes equal to his Essence on any Investigation or Bureaucracy roll to find various items in a marketplace or similar situation, and gains extra dice equal to his Essence on any Bureaucracy roll relating to barter and bargaining. The essence of the Solar using this charm is considered to be one dot higher (for the purpose of this charm only) if he's in a large marketplace or bazaar, or by two dots if he's in a truely huge market like the one in Nexus or the Great Bazaar of Chiaroscuro.
Prudent Pursers Method
Cost: 3 motes, 1 willpower Duration: Varies Type: Simple Min. Bureaucracy: 5 Min Essence: 3 Prereqs: Masterful Traders Insight
It often becomes necessary for a ship at sea to land in a port and replenish its supplies, and it was for this activity that the charm was both named and originally invented -- though it sees use among the Quartermasters of armies and the Masters of Caravans. Anyone who purchases large amounts of relatively mundane items finds that this charm makes his life much easier, lowering his overhead and thus increasing his profits or simply increasing the scope of his operations. This charm, when used, allows the Exalt to casually acquire anything that he needs through barter and the shuffling of favors from person to person. The Exalt gains an almost prescient understanding of the Market in which he uses the charm, and can purchase supplies with a resource value up to his Essence for 'free'. The price of anything costing more this is reduced by one dot.
Actually using this charm takes one hour per resource value of the supplies, and involves a good amount of leg-work and bargaining with various people throughout the local economy where the supplies are bought. It does not create the supplies; they have to be present in the market in some quantity. If the supplies in question are especially rare or precious, this charm will not function in their purchase.
Everyone affected by this charm breaks even, or at least feels as though they do.
Investors Insightful Glance
Cost: 4 motes Duration: Instant Type: Simple Min. Bureaucracy: 3 Min Essence: 2 Prereqs: Consumer-Evaluating Glance
An Exalted using this charm can get a feel for a potential business partner, reading the subjects intentions and competence as if it was plainly displayed before him. This gives the Exalt a rough idea of the subjects Bureaucracy rating, if he intends to cheat the Exalt or expects difficulties that he has not shared. In addition, the Exalt gains a gut feeling on the prospects of whatever is being proposed; instantly reading the essence flows of the coming endeavor, to get some idea of how chance and other people involved will shape things. While this charm is not perfect, it none the less allows an Exalt to pick his partners and investment with almost perfect recognition of the situation.
Example: The Exalt is approached by a wealthy noble asking for monetary aid and patronage in the establishment of some new venture. This charm lets the Exalt know that the Noble has a Bureaucracy up to the task (roughly 3 dots), and is completely legitimate -- though he hasn't told the Exalt that his parents are against the venture, hence the reason the Noble went to the Anathema. He knows that, despite that, the caravan has a fairly good chance of doing a good job and being profitable. A few months later, the character finds out one way or another.
This charm has a tendency to be optimistic, and cannot predict the effects of supernatural intervention (though it can tell the character if the subject /expects/ such to be a problem).
