FrivYeti/LunarWits

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Essence of the Mother Method

 Cost: None
 Duration: Permanent
 Type: Special
 Minimum Wits: 1
 Minimum Essence: 2
 Prerequisite Charms: None

Many Lunars find that they need Essence that they do not have easy access to. With this Charm, a Lunar learns to expand her capability to store Essence, using the power of the Moon in order to better serve herself. When this Charm is purchased, it provides a special pool, "Moon Essence". For each purchase of this Charm, the maximum Moon Essence pool is increased by 8. Spending Essence from this pool counts as peripheral Essence. It can only be recharged by spending a full hour under the moonlight, once per night. If the hour is not spent, instead reduce the number of motes in the pool by 1. The Lunar must refill his pool at the end of the first hour spent under the moonlight. Lunars MAY use Essence in this pool to attune artifacts; however, their total pool still reduces if they do not spend time in the moonlight, possibly breaking attunement.
Lunars may purchase this Charm up to a number of times equal to their permanent Essence.

Comments

I really like this, and think you did a great job on the imagery. Only one question remains, then. Can you be more specific as to how one must spend the time in the moonlight, and how fast it recharges? Could you, say, spend that hour under the moon in the middle of a large battle? Could, then, you time this large battle such that oh, say, an hour in, when you're feeling a little weak, it's just bam!, and you're up 8 (16, 24) motes? Or must it be spent meditating? What if you just happened to have a nearly full pool, and were out walking for hours, and it's almost moon-set. You get into a scuffle with a particularly ornery Gazelle that just won't give in, and then you decide "Hey, I've been under the moon for 6 hours. But this last one? Yeah, that was the recharging one. Gimme my motes, biatch."
-- GregLink, clarifying exactly how to min-max this charm.

I definately wanted the Lunar to be able to be active. And yeah, I'd say that a Lunar who was careful could time a battle so that they can grab a bunch of Essence at once (by comparison, Neph's suggested Solar one refills completely at noon). I will alter it so that it has to be at the end of the first hour, though. Rewards some cunning, without going overboard. :) - FrivYeti

It seems to me that keying it to an environmental or timed factor loses a fair bit of the flavor and balance that comes from the original Abyssal Charm; Essence Engorgement Technique requires that the Essence be gathered from a specific source, namely eating people. For the Solar Charm, with Solars being the embodiment of excellence, it seems that stunt Essence should be the allowed source; I admit that I'm stumped as to a comparable source for Lunars, though they do have Breath-Drinking Executioner Attack as one possibility. Vargo Teras

There is that. I'll have to think about it; I have the snarky solution (requiring killing animals) but that's not what I'm trying to encourage in Lunars. - FrivYeti

Perhaps living as an animal, then? Ignoring stupid civilization and getting back to Gaia, as it were? -- GregLink

The Lunar themes are survival, mutability and barbarian society, aren't they? So wouldn't it make sense to have something like a ritual hunt? Maybe this:

A Lunar may, at any point, perform a ritual with at least one other being that begins a hunt. He must then choose the form of a herbivorous being and evade capture by the other member(s) of the ritual. For every hour he evades capture he may return 8 motes to his Moon Pool at the end of the hunt. If, at any point, he uses a charm, shapeshifts into a non-herbivore form or otherwise feels perfectly safe the hunt ends with no effect and no mote regain.

Although in this case, maybe increasing the amount of essence availiable for each purchase might be wise (and the amount per hour regained by the hunt). -- Somori