IsawaBrian/SolarLoreMemoryPalace
Resplendent Memory Palace
For most Solars, magical Lore is usually less a matter of learning knowledge and more a matter of enforcing it. The Solar decides that someone is not wounded, so takes the wounds upon himself. The Solar decides that she is herself, and the ravages of the Wyld do not touch her. The most powerful of these charms, of course, can actually physically create that which the Solar “knows” out of the primal stuff of the Wyld.
However, for those Solars who decide to explore the process of learning itself, there is another, less well known tree of Charms. Learning to use these charms is spoken of as Erecting the Resplendent Memory Palace; their techniques are based upon magical enhancements of the memory techniques available to mortals called Memory Palaces- the art of creating a mental “palace” of one’s memories, where each room and the items that fill it correspond to a certain set of memories.
The Resplendent Memory Palace, fueled by Essence, is of course much more effective than mortal mental constructions. Indeed, repeated use of the Resplendent Memory Palace alters the Exalt’s mind subtly but with wide-reaching effects. For each Charm known in this Tree, a single level of Eidetic Recall can be taken at a cost of 1 experience point rather than 3. The buying of other mental merits, such as Legendary Intelligence, while not at a discount, should be considered to be more than amply justified by the purchase and use of these Charms.
Erecting an ordinary Memory Palace requires a minimum Lore of 3. It may be learned by barbarians just as easily as by the civilized. While barbarians tend to think of them in terms of mental songlines and chants rather than the order of Memory Palace, their oral traditions result in more early training in memory techniques than among those who can rely on written traditions.
To erect the Palace itself requires a Simple Lore + Intelligence roll with a difficulty of 3. Once created, new memories can be added at the end of the day with a Simple Lore + Intelligence roll with a difficulty of 1, plus 1 per day past the event being added and greater levels depending on the depth of detail recalled. Under most circumstances, Storytellers should assume that characters with a Palace simply add important events, and only require rolls if a player decides to add trivial events or great levels of detail.
To recall a memory from the Palace -- effectively simulating the Eidetic Recall Merit – the player makes another Simple Lore + Intelligence roll. Unlike Eidetic Recall Merit, this cannot ordinarily be done under undue stress, although the Storyteller may permit a stunt. For each success, the character can add a single dimension of memory that is perfectly recalled. The first three must be chosen from among hearing, vision, and smell. Taste, touch, and other, more esoteric senses, unless they replace one of the first three or are unusually vivid (Storyteller’s call), can only be perfectly recalled with rolls of four or more successes. A botch may destroy the memory entirely, generally by replacing it with a false one or simply losing the “room.”
Storytellers should feel free to alter these orders for characters with different senses—such as the blind, or snake beastmen, etc. There is an upper limit to how much a mortal mind can hold in such Palaces, but the difference is so ephemeral that it must be simply left to Storyteller discretion; in general, the Storyteller should impose a +1 to difficulty for every decade past the original event. The Charms Eternal Mind Meditation, Lore-Speaking Method and Glorious Picture Gallery as well as the Eidetic Recall Merit are far more powerful than this Mortal effect, and are not limited by any of those constraints.
The Akashic Record is completely barred to enemies of Heaven. Moonshadow Caste Abyssals, Infernal Exalts, and similar entities can neither learn nor use such Charms, and if a Solar who knows one of these Charms is corrupted, he loses the use of them. At the Storyteller’s option, other Charms in this Tree may be barred to Abyssals as well; the Malfeans seem to discourage self knowledge.
Keys to the Palace</B>
<B>Cost:3 motes per success Duration: Instant Type: Supplemental Minimum Lore: 1 Minimum Essence: 1 Prerequisite Charms: None
The first stage of Erecting the Resplendent Memory Palace is to energize the gates of the character’s mind. Knowing how to construct a Memory Palace is useful, but not required at this stage. By energizing his mental gates, the character places his mind in order, clearing it of cobwebs and increasing the efficiency of his thought. To use this Charm, the player first makes a regular Lore roll for the character. Then the player may “buy” additional successes, up to the character’s Essence rating + the number of successes rolled on the Lore roll. Each success bought in this fashion costs 3 motes of essence.
For roughly a scene after the use of this Charm, the character’s mind is significantly more orderly than that of a regular person’s. Due to Solar mastery, this does not cause significant long or short term damage as does Careful Insight-Gathering Study, but it is a repellent condition to creatures of the Wyld. All social rolls involving Fae and other Wyld beings are at +1 difficulty, and the taste of Compassion coming from them is bland at best.
In Second Edition, this Charm is very different.
Cost: --; Mins: Lore: 2, Essence 2; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Any Lore Excellency
The Keys to the Resplendent Memory Palace are found in learning; the first step in Erecting the Resplendent Memory Palace is to develop the mind so that learning and retention become second nature to the Lawgiver. All training times for experience expenditures by the Solar are halved.
Glorious Picture Gallery</B>
<B>Cost:5 motes Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Lore: 3 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Keys to the Palace
The second stage of Erecting the Resplendent Memory Palace consists of two steps, each leading to a different section of the Palace. The path usually taken first is through the Exalt’s mental “picture gallery”. By taking a moment to wandering through that hall in their mind, she may perfectly recall an event from the past. Despite the name of this Charm, such memories extend to all of the senses, including special senses and occult senses such as Essence sight of one form or another. The Glorious Picture Gallery only applies to those experiences of the Exalt’s current lifetime; past lives are still a mystery to her.
This is a perfect, if relatively trivial effect, and does not ordinarily require a roll unless the character’s memories have been damaged or destroyed. In that case, the character can attempt to recover such lost memories with an Intelligence + Lore roll, based upon the effects the memories of such events have had upon the rest of her mind. Generally, this ranges from a difficulty of 3 for merely damaged memories to 5 or greater for actually destroyed memories.
Such recovered memories are generally only available for recall for roughly a scene after the character uses this Charm, although she may of course write down what she recalls. However, if the character successfully uses this Charm at least one a month for a number of months equal to the difficulty rating of the memory and spends 1 experience point, a memory may be completely recovered simply due to repeated reinforcement- the character is “repainting” a picture in her Gallery and repairing her Memory Palace. The Storyteller should feel free to require additional costs or to state that some memories are unrecoverable.
In Second Edtion, this Charm costs 3 motes, is Combo-OK, and Speed 3.
Ever-Present Library</B>
<B>Cost:Special Duration: Special Type: Simple Minimum Lore: 4 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Glorious Picture Gallery
In the third stage of Erecting the Memory Palace, past the winding halls of the Glorious Picture Gallery are the Libraries of the Mind. These great edifices are constructed from attuned libraries, their Essence imprinted into the Solar’s mind. By spending half an hour (more for especially large libraries) within a library, passing through its collections and letting the flows of Essence guide him to read certain key books, the Solar imprints the entire library within his head for a cost of 3 committed motes of Essence. A character may not have more attuned libraries than he has dots of Lore.
An attuned library is more perfect than a real one- any book that had ever been within the library for more than a month is considered to be within the attuned library. Newly added books can be added by reattuning the whole library; they are not automatically added. A character may choose to exclude books from their mental library, at a cost of 2 motes of Essence expended (not committed) per physical book excluded, and simply by choosing not to pick up the resonance of non-present books.
This can be critical for attuning occult libraries-- the Exalt attunes books of magical knowledge at his own risk. While most sorcerous works and treatises on Essence are perfectly safe, those that deal in the forbidden knowledge of the Yozis and demons or in the dark twists of Oblivion (including texts that include actual Necromantic spells and rituals and descriptions of the minds of the Malfeans) will have their full effect on any Exalt foolish enough to include them in his mind, regardless of whether he has looked them up or not (see below).
Having an attuned library is a broader but more expensive way of recalling works than Perfect Recollection Discipline (CB: Twilight, p 72). In order to look up a book in his library, the character must spend 2 motes of essence and as much time meditating as it would ordinarily require to look up a medium-sized work (as defined by Perfect Recollection Discipline) and the cost increases accordingly for larger works. Once retrieved, the book stays in his consciousness until the motes are released. He can hold any number of such works in his head, as long as the Essence is committed, although generally, it is less expensive to use Perfect Recollection Discipline if it is known. Otherwise, the memory of the book will last just as long as it would normally, although the Exalt may write down notes.
In Second Edition, this Charm is mostly unchanged. At Essence 4, a character may permanently affix a library in their mind by expending one day's worth of effort physically within the library, or one week's worth of meditation and communing with it mentally, and spending 3 experience points. This is known as Affixing the Literary Bastion.
Affixing the Literary Bastion</B>
<B>Cost:None Duration: Permanent Type: Special Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Ever-Present Library
Less of a Charm than a mental discipline that alters the characters’ Libraries of the Mind, Affixing the Literary Bastion allows the character to permanently fix a library in her head. This more in-depth procedure requires a day’s worth of effort in an already attuned Library; this counts as the "training time" for this Charm. Such Affixed libraries may still be re-attuned to include new books at a cost of 3 motes and a day’s worth of work; such re-attunement does not require the expenditure of Essence. Books may be excluded as per Ever-Present Library at the time of Affixing. Future exclusions are possible, but require an hour's worth of meditation and 2 motes of essence committed for that time period per book to be excluded. Once Affixed, a library no longer counts against the Exalt’s maximum libraries, nor are the motes of Essence invested. Looking up and mentally holding retrieved books still requires time and Essence. This Charm may only be purchased a number of times equal to the character's Willpower.
In Second Edition, this Charm has been folded into a higher-level effect of Ever-Present Library.
Turning to the Akashic</B>
<B>Cost:4 motes, 1 willpower plus experience Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Lore: 3 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Keys to the Palace
The other step in the second stage of Erecting the Resplendent Memory Palace leads to the doorstep of a shrine at the heart of the Resplendent Memory Palace. This shrine is the character’s connection to the Akashic record, the connected memory of all of the souls that have passed on before him. At this stage of development, the character has insufficient development to be trusted within the Akashic record personally. However, by meditating upon the mental threshold, he can tap into its ambience, and thus learn at incredible speeds.
With or without a tutor, the character does not require any training time for any experience expenditure (although only one purchase may be made per use of this Charm) except for the creation of new Martial Art Charms. Because of the intricacies of the Perfected Lotus, the character must still spend some time in spiritual and physical development to create a new Martial Art Charm. A similar restriction applies to the creation of new Sorcery Spells, given the sophistication of their use. However, this takes only half as long as normal subsequent to the use of this Charm, as the character already knows the methods that he must use. Even wholly new Charms, Martial Art or otherwise, and spells can be created in this fashion as the experience of all beings that ever lived filters through his mind.
In Second Edition, this Charm is Combo-Basic and Obvious.
Embracing the Akashic</B>
<B>Cost:3 motes per die, 1 willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple or Supplemental Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Turning to the Akashic, Glorious Picture Gallery
The character has now become sufficiently learned that the Guardians of the Akashic Record (a subsection of the bureau of Abstract Matters that remains wholly aloof from the regular politics of Yu-Shan, answering only to the Celestines) will allow her to travel into the flow of her past lives, mortal and Exalted, opening up the door to the shrine in her Resplendent Memory Palace. This allows the character to purchase Past Life dice for use on any one applicable roll, including perfect memories of past lives. The character may purchase no more Past Life dice than her permanent Essence, although they do stack with existing Past Life or Savant dice.
In Second Edition, this Charm is Combo-OK.
Transcendent Lore Prowess</B>
<B>Cost:None Duration: Permanent Type: Special Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Embracing the Akashic
(Respectfully adapted from Neph’s suggestion) Through the advanced development of the Resplendent Memory Palace and the learning techniques derived thereof, the character becomes a master of knowledge. Subtract two from the difficulty of all rolls involving the Lore ability (minimum difficulty one).
In Second Edition, this Charm reduces all penalties of any Lore roll by 2. Its Prerequisite Charms are all three Lore Excellencies, Infinite Lore Mastery, and Essence Lore Flow. Its Essence minimum is increased to 4.
Shield of the Lore</B>
<B>Cost:None Duration: Permanent Type: Special Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Embracing the Akashic
This is not actually a Charm; it is instead a natural development of the Twilight Anima Ability. As such, it may not be purchased by any other Exalt, even if they have the capability, such as by (Exalt Type) Ways) to use the Twilight Anima Ability. The Twilight develops the ability to pour even more Essence into her Anima to create a hardier shield. The Exalt’s player may purchase additional successes on her Essence roll to negate damage for 3 Essence per success, up to a maximum of her Lore score. This is reflexive, and does not count as Charm use or interfere with any other actions.
This Charm will not be converted until either the Twilight Ability in Second Edition is rewritten or the Dawn Ability is brought up to match. I mean, c'mon, what more do they need?
Master of the Citadel of Knowledge</B>
<B>Cost:5 motes, 1 willpower Duration: One Scene or Instant Type: Simple Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Ever-Present Library, Embracing the Akashic
Books and other literary works produce a strange flow of mental Essence, both from their use and their creation. As they remain together in a collection, these faint wisps become almost imperceptible mental dragon lines. An Exalt who has mastered the control of such lines within his own mind and the connections of his Memory Palace to the physical world can tap into the mental dragon lines of libraries, enabling him to extract information seemingly from the air around him.
As long as he is within the physical confines of a library, the Exalted may access any or all of the literary works contained within it in an instant. This has the effect of compressing a day’s worth of research in a single scene (roughly 15 minutes for the purposes of continuous research). The Exalted may similarly tap into attuned and Affixed libraries in his Resplendent Memory Palace, and is not charged for the retrieval of books while doing so. If the Exalted is inside the physical environs of one of his attuned or Affixed libraries, a day’s worth of research may be accomplished instantly with a Simple dice action, although this consumes all the power of this Charm at once. A character can only access knowledge that is physically present with this charm-- lost works are only available if the library is attuned or Affixed, and the minds of librarians and other patrons are not open to the Exalt.
In Second Edition, this Charm is Obvious and Combo-Ok. It has Speed 5 when used as an instant, Simple action.
Entering the Akashic</B>
<B>Cost:15 motes, 1 willpower Duration: One Continuous Day Type: Simple Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 5 Prerequisite Charms: Master of the Citadel of Knowledge
At this level of mastery, the Exalted is consecrated to the Akashic Record at the shrine within her mind. As a result, she may dip into the Akashic Record as it flows through all beings, not merely herself. However, it requires the spiritual mastery of an Elder to truly understand the nature of the Record and its uses. With this Charm, however, the Exalted can make crude inquiries into the record, which may allow for important insights if used correctly.
To use this Charm, the Exalt must spend an entire, continuous day meditating on the Record, neither eating, drinking, nor sleeping. This will usually require a number of Stamina + Endurance rolls, although judicious use of the proper Charms and other helpful preparations can aid in this regard. This meditation is not enforced, and the Exalt may defend herself, but doing so or otherwise breaking the meditation will cause the fifteen motes and one temporary willpower to be wasted. During this meditation, the Exalt’s mind will be mostly skirting the edges of the great flow of the Akasha, and consulting with the Guardians.
At the beginning of the day, the Exalt specifies a single question to which she desires an answer. This question can be about anything that is or was, so long as all knowledge of it has not passed into oblivion. The question cannot touch upon the future, although asking, “What are the Bull of the North’s plans regarding Halta?” is a perfectly legitimate question, as it asks about current plans for the future, rather than what the Bull will actually do.
The question also cannot dip into the Record of any being with an Essence greater than 5 without their permission. This is only necessary if it is something that only such a being would know, and the Guardians are more than willing to send the proper paperwork off for an Exalt capable of using this Charm, provided that they are not corrupted. The Guardians will warn the Exalt if such permission is required, and whom it is required from, and the Exalt may abort the use of this Charm in that case.
In general, such permission is easy to gain, and the use of this Charm is considered a legitimate means of getting an appointment. It does not, however, require civility between enemies, and some beings may require strange bargains or bribes. The Guardians are fearless, and will even take a question to the Malfeans, the Yozis, or one of the vast Wyld entities, but they do not assume any responsibility for coming into spiritual contact with such beings, and will report such incidences to the Unconquered Sun directly.
The Storyteller is obligated to be truthful when answering the question, although he is not obligated to be clear in his answer. In general, the more complicated the answer is or the more effect the answer would have on the plot, the more obtuse the Storyteller may become. No answer should be utterly useless, however; this is a powerful effect and deserves to be treated as such.
In Second Edition, this Charm is Obvious, and typically requires Stamina + Resistance, rather than Endurance, rolls, as Endurance no longer exists.
Diving Into the Akashic</B>
<B>Cost:6 motes per die, 2 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple or Supplemental Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 4 Prerequisite Charms: Entering the Akashic
The character’s mastery of the Akasha now turns outward. He may swim beyond the gates and the guardians, looking into the pasts of others. The Exalt purchases Past Life or Savant dice for someone else, at a cost of six motes per die. The character must either have the subject present, the corpse of a previous life or a prized possession from the past life he wishes to explore. It will also function in an appropriate, inhabited tomb. This cannot be used to explore a “past life” that is currently happening.
After the effect is triggered, the Solar will be in a trance state that, depending on what the character is investigating, may last anywhere from a brief second to several hours. It is therefore unwise to leave yourself unprotected during this process, especially if you have not properly propitiated the hungry ghost of your target’s former life. This can be used to investigate mortal lifetimes and Exalted Shards alike. The character cannot gain more dice than he has permanent Essence. If the subject is present, she will experience the same boost as the character; this can therefore be used to aid someone else in past-life regression.
There is a danger to using this Charm on someone with Throwback. If the Exalt using Diving Into the Akashic botches while exploring the past life of the Throwback, he suffers the full effect of the Throwback on himself.
In Second Edition, this Charm is slightly different:
Cost: --; Mins: Lore: 5, Essence 4; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Entering the Akashic
The character’s mastery of the Akasha now turns outward. He may swim beyond the gates and the guardians, looking into the pasts of others. The Exalt may now spend an additional 2 motes per die to activate Entering the Akashic using another person's Past Life or Savant. The character must either have the subject present, the corpse of a previous life or a prized possession from the past life he wishes to explore. It will also function in an appropriate, inhabited tomb. This cannot be used to explore a “past life” that is currently happening.
This can be used to investigate mortal lifetimes and Exalted Shards alike. The character cannot gain more dice than he has permanent Essence. If the subject is present, she will experience the same boost as the character; this can therefore be used to aid someone else in past-life regression. There is a danger to using this Charm on someone with Throwback. If the Exalt using the Diving Into the Akashic modification of Entering the Akashic botches while exploring the past life of the Throwback, he suffers the full effect of the Throwback on himself.
Blocking the Akashic</B>
<B>Cost:12 motes, 2 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 5 Prerequisite Charms: Diving Into the Akashic, Entering the Akashic
Now the Exalt begins to spread her control of the Akashic Record beyond herself. She may instruct the Guardians to temporarily forbid another from reaching into their past lives, and ward the Akasha against them. The character rolls her Essence + Lore against a difficulty equal to the target’s permanent Essence. Each success subtracts a dot from the target’s Past Life or Savant background, but cannot reduce it below a minimum of 1. For the purposes of Stronger than Flesh, this is a mental attack. These dots return at a rate of one every (Solar’s permanent Essence) days. Any use of Embracing the Akashic can be used to ‘heal’ lost dots instantly, at the usual cost of 3 motes per die. Diving Into the Akashic can be used to heal such damage, but only if the user desires.
In Second Edition, this Charm is Combo-OK and Obvious.
Damming the River</B>
<B>Cost:16 motes, 3 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Simple Minimum Lore: 6 Minimum Essence: 6 Prerequisite Charms: Blocking the Akashic
This frightening effect allows a character to erect a metaphysical dam between his target and her past lives, far more powerful than that of Blocking the Akashic. Roll the character’s Essence + Lore against the target’s permanent Essence as above. This time, however, any damage is permanent, and the character can reduce his target to 0 Past Life or Savant! This may be used for beneficial purposes, to block a Throwback. If used on an Akuma, the block is only for this lifetime. The Throwback will be present, halved as usual, in the next lifetime (unless the target becomes a slave to the Yozis once more).
This damage cannot be ‘healed’ through ordinary means. Turning to the Akashic can be used to batter down the wall, at a cost of 1 xp per dot restored. Diving Into the Akashic can also be used to heal another, but it will cost both characters 1 xp per dot restored. Finally, Merciful Balm of Sleep will fully restore the character’s Past Life or Savant Backgrounds. It will not restore blocked Throwbacks. Other options may be available.
In Second Edition, this Charm is functions differently:
Cost: --; Mins: Lore: 6, Essence 6; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Blocking the Akashic
The character's mastery of the Akashic takes on frightening power to deny another access to their past Lives. When using Blocking the Akashic, the Lawgiver may opt to spend an additional 4 motes and 1 willpower in order to make the damage permanent, and to give the Solar the option to reduce the target's Past Life, Savant, or Throwback to 0. If used beneficially to block a Throwback on a former Akuma, the block is only for this lifetime. The Throwback will be present, halved as usual, in the next lifetime (unless the target becomes a slave to the Yozis once more).
This damage cannot be ‘healed’ through ordinary means. Turning to the Akashic can be used to batter down the wall, at a cost of 1 xp per dot restored. Diving Into the Akashic can also be used to heal another, but it will cost both characters 1 xp per dot restored. Finally, Merciful Balm of Sleep will fully restore the character’s Past Life or Savant Backgrounds. It will not restore blocked Throwbacks. Other options may be available.
Non-Memory Palace Charms
These charms do not influence the Memory Palace eidetic memory or mental merits, but are associated with the Palace otherwise.
Closing The Gates</B>
<B>Cost:3 motes Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Lore: 2 Minimum Essence: 1 Prerequisite Charms: Keys to the Gate
Once the Exalt has discovered how to open his mind, he learns how to close it against outside influences as well. By expending 2 motes of Essence, he may seal his mind within the Resplendent Memory Palace for a brief period of time, protecting it against untoward mental influence. As long as a mental attack or attempt to influence the Exalt’s mind can be resisted, he may choose to instead roll Wits + Lore instead. Any effect that does not give a roll to resist requires the use of Master of My Mind, below. Although this Charm requires Keys to the Gate, it and those Charms that follow it are not considered to be a part of Erecting the Resplendent Memory Palace and have no effect on the purchasing of Eidetic Recall or other mental merits in and of themselves.
In Second Edition, this Charm works very differently:
Closing the Gates</i>
<i>Cost: 5m, 1 wp; Mins: Lore: 4, Essence 2; Type: SimpleKeywords: Combo-OK, Social Duration: One Scene Prerequisite Charms:Keys to the Palace
The Solar learns to turn her knowledge and the subtle training of her mind to armor against those who would dare to tamper with her perceptions and intellect. For the rest of the scene, add the Solar’s Lore to the character’s MDV before it is halved to resist any attempt to alter the character’s perceptions, memory, or knowledge. This would not protect the character against an attempt to change her beliefs; if a character believes that Moray Darktide is a good and redeemable person, she would not be protected by this charm. If someone is attempting to convince the character that Moray Darktide is an Abyssal, rather than a Solar, this Charm applies.
Master of My Mind</B>
<B>Cost:5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Instant Type: Reflexive Minimum Lore: 4 Minimum Essence: 2 Prerequisite Charms: Closing the Gates
The character may resist, without her player rolling, any one mental attack or influence attempt against her. Even if it could not ordinarily be resisted, such as a roll on the influencer’s part against a fixed difficulty, this will utterly negate the assault. A single use of Master of My Mind will negate a turn’s worth of effects such as Terrifying Apparition of Glory, including secondary effects such as the Apparition’s Essence penalty to attack, but will not break persistent Charms unless they are placed on the user of Master of My Mind.
In Second Edition, this Charm works very differently:
Master of My Mind</i>
<i>Cost: 5m, 1 wp; Mins: Lore: 4, Essence 2; Type: ReflexiveKeywords: Combo-OK Duration: Instant Prerequisite Charms:Closing the Gates
No force in Creation can deceive a scholarly Lawgiver as to her memories and knowledge. The Solar may at any time utilize this Charm to perfectly break any long-term effects which alter the character’s perceptions, memory, or knowledge, as per Closing the Gate.
Mental Stronghold Technique</i>
Cost: --; Mins: Lore: 5, Essence 5; Type: Permanent Keywords: None Prerequisite Charms: Energy Seclusion Shield, Closing the Gates
The Solar strengthens her Closing the Gates Charm, extending its defenses against all forms of attack. Coruscations of words are baffled by the mazes of the Solar’s mind; her strong walls of mental force will not submit to external pressure. While using closing the Gates, the Solar’s Dodge MDV is always applicable. This is a perfect defense against inapplicability.
<I>Sanctified Consciousness
Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower Duration: Indefinite Type: Simple Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Master of My Mind
Although no physical signs of this charm are present, on the mental plane, it is a most unsubtle, if rather efficacious, defense. The Exalt infuses his mind with essence, creating a powerful barrier against external intrusion. Until he chooses to release the committed Essence, the Exalt’s Essence is added to the difficulty of all attempts to attack, influence, or read his mind. In contested rolls, the Exalt’s Essence is added in autosuccesses to his roll.
In Second Edition, this Charm is superceded by Integrity MDV Charms.
Stronger Than Flesh</B>
<B>Cost:None Duration: Permanent Type: Special Minimum Lore: 5 Minimum Essence: 3 Prerequisite Charms: Master of My Mind
The Exalt’s powerful mind will not tolerate attacks. Add her Lore to soak any purely mental attacks, including aggravated damage. Even ordinarily unsoakable damage may be soaked with this defense, although in that case, it is only half, round down. This has no effect on spiritual or physical attacks.
In Second Edition, this is an Integrity Charms.
