Konpeito/SecondEdLunarsNowCharmNotes

Charm Tree Notes

These are just my notes for what charms are ok, which need rewrites, and which need to go. Some trees, such as Knowledge, need SERIOUS help.

Excellencies

First, Second, and Third as standard, except tied to attributes instead of abilities. Costs doubled for damage dice? Limited to Atts in any case.

Fourth Excellency - The Die-to-Success Converter. 2m per success up to Att, 3m or 4m for over that up to +Ess?

(A suggestion regarding the 2nd and Fourth Excellencies- Make the Fourth Excellency 1m per converted success up to Att, then a later Charm ala Essence Flow allowing the Second and Fourth Excellencies to be used together?)

Scenelong Attribute Adders- 3m/dot? Lunars can double their atts this way, and become committment monsters rather like Sidereals. However, this also means that there's no such thing as Infinite (Attribute) Mastery for Lunars. Broken? I don't think so, since they can't add as much.

Why do I like this idea? Because it removes the need for DBT.

Shapeshifting

Most of these charms survive relatively intact, the charms sprouting from DBT aside. Most of these charms are rather overcosted for what they do; Many-Faced Moon Transformation vs Shaping the Ideal Form, for instance.

Some charms can (and should) be inherent abilities of Lunars, perhaps tied to Essence. Or, perhaps, left as charms, but easily accessible through a background (like Birth for Fair Folk). It should not require a ton of xp or freebie points to be good at general shapeshifting when shapeshifting is your schtick.

A high-essence charm to lower or remove costs for the basic "become anything you've eaten" ability of Lunars is a possibility.

It has come to my attention that some people actully like DBT, primarily for the customizability. I have no problem with one warform charm with lots of little permanent add-ons ala the 2e Solar Ride charm, but for any manner of balance to be maintained the attribute-buffing needs to go elsewhere.

Body Enhancement

Most of the first tree in the 1e fatsplat can be chucked out entirely. Two charms are supplanted by Excellencies, and Breath-Drinking Executioner Attack, while a neat charm, is not enhancing one's body (move to Unarmed Combat?). Likewise, Regaining Breath Exercise is not enhancing one's body, and may be slightly unbalanced.

Body Enhancement II: Combine Predator Grace Method and Panther Stride Stance. Flying Tiger Tech and Cat-Falling Attitude(overcosted?) are fine. Tree-Dwelling Jaguar Claws and Cat Paw Climbing Style are fine.

Unarmed Combat

UC I: Body Weapon Tech should also allow you to parry lethal damage without a stunt. Sinuous Striking Grace looks like it's been replaced by Increase Initiative in the 2e STC. Tyrant Lizard Strike and Hydra Head Attack are fine, but why is something named for a Tyrant Lizard adding dice to hit instead of damage dice? Tree needs one of those anyway. Snake Body is fine. Coiled Cobra could let you aim for longer, maybe +Ess ticks (so if you had essence two, you could aim for five ticks instead of three). Deadly Viper Strike should not be a prerequisite in this case, nor should it be as expensive.

UC II: Deadly Claw Blow replaced by success-buying excellencies? Claws of the Silver Moon and Scimitar Claw are fine. Adder Fang, Burning Saliva (Cobra Eye Method and Sophorific Venom Attack become permanent upgrades?) are fine. Deadly Viper Strike is just a tad overcosted. Rabid Beast Bite is kind of pointless. Form Destroying Touch and Snake Head are fine.

UC III: Monkey Arm is fine. Startling Tentacle should get the standard 2e Extra action rewrite (2m, Ess+1 attacks), Grasping Psuedopod, Tentacle Spear, and Weapon-Snatching Coils are fine, though WSC is pretty clearly an extra action with benefits charm, and should probably either be an add-on to Startling Tentacle or just a separate disarm aid.

UC IV: Bear Embrace and Mighty Bear Crush supplanted by Excellencies. Spine Breaking Technique is actually a little undercosted; making the "Str Autosux" part of the charm as a higher-Essence add-on would probably work better. Throat Barring Hold is fine. Hyena Jaw is undercosted for what it does. Cunning Porcupine shouldn't be Indefinite. Scenelong at best. Ossific Shard Shot might be a little undercosted. Note: Since I'm probably going to either drastically nerf or get rid of DBT, I am ignoring wholesale any "Must be in DBT mode" charm restrictions.

UC V: Angry Rhino should not be a dice-adder, just a Heaven Thunder Hammer clone. Bull Head Technique and Subduing the Honored Foe are supplanted by Excellencies. Body Breaking Kata is hilariously overcosted for a pre-soak damage doubler. Foot Confusing Buffet should be limited to the attacker's Essence, and, every sacrificed die adds an additional tick until the target's next DV refresh.

UC VI: Door-Breaking Method supplanted by Excellencies. Hunter's Eye and Armor-Rending Claw Fist are fine.

Jesus, Lunars have too much Unarmed Combat charmage.

Melee Combat

MC I: Sensing the Deadly Flow is an excellency. I'm pretty sure Striking Mosipid Method is a duplicate charm, but if it's not, it's okay if limited to being a speed-dropper. Ferocious Biting Sword is fine as a success-doubler. Dance of the Living Blade needs the standard 2e Extra Action fix. Irresistable Storm adds +Dex attack like the Solar Super-EA charm? Re: Spinning Blade and Lightning Sword- Why? Dust Devil Advance can drop Speed and prevent surprise. Twisting Surprise Attack needs a rewrite- the charm user attacks in the same tick as the other guy, his attack still gets resolved first, not simultaneously. Foe-Driving Attack is okay, but I'm getting sick of all these Extra Action charms. Monkey Paw Advantage is an excellency. Weapon Clutching Method can basically be a perfect defense against disarms, which is nice, I guess. Twisting Monkey Wrist's dice-adding is out, but the difficulty-reducing on disarm attempts is fine, as is Surprising Gibbon Attack.

MC II: Knowing Weapon is essentially an excellency. Tiger Claw Swat is fine, but overcosted. Scar Making Blow is a little weird: maybe you don't need to kill the target outright to disfigure him? Otherwise, kinda pointless. Ferocious Avalanche Technique is fine. Limb-Maiming Flourish is undercosted. Thunderclap Method is an excellency. Weapon-Fusing Method and Weapon-Shaping Prana are fine. Stunning Moonsilver Blow is another of these "Why?" charms. Surprising Moonsilver Deformation and Deadly Moonsilver Affinity are both Excellencies. Insidious Moonsilver Shard is both awesome and fine.

Ranged Combat

Ranged I: Eage Eye Advantage is an Excellency. Nature's Harmony Advantage and Knowing the Arrow's Path are fine. The less said about Two-Target Method, the better. Silver Waterfall Technique needs the standard 2e Extra Action fix. Rain of Feathered Doom, meanwhile, seems rather counterproductive next to it. Finding the Needle's Eye is fine, as is Arrow Breaking Shot; perhaps the latter should be an expansion-charm for the former? Skillfull Ricochet is fine as a -damage for -DV effect. Arrow-Shaping Method is egegriously overcosted.

Ranged II: Wolf Eye Advantage is fine. Wind-Wings Carry Technique should probably read MAX Range, not LISTED Range. Bow-Bending Method and Body-Pinning Style are fine. Deadly Assassin's Shot is an Excellency. Lightning Stroke is fine, but overcosted(5m?). Finally, Riding the Secret Wind looks like a twice-as-expensive version of Knowing the Arrow's Path to me.

Defensive

Def I: Steel Paw Style is made superfluous by the new Body Weapon. Ground-Denying Defense is maaaaybe overcosted, but otherwise fine. Golden Tiger Block is a reflexive. Wary Swallow Method needs a rewrite to work with DV, but is fine, as it's basically DSD. Feline Guard is the same, but for dodge and also overcosted; make it 2m. Den Mother Method is fine, it just needs a rewrite to handle DV. Crouching Tiger Stance can probably be moved to one of the combat trees, as it's just a counterattack charm- the defense part becomes quickly meaningless under DV.

Def II: Bowing Reed Tech looks to become superfluous with DV. Bending Before the Storm is an excellency. Wind-Dancing Method could eliminate Onslaught penalties; lower the cost if so? Serpent Eye Defense looks unnecessarily complicated. Unmoving Bear Defense is overcosted (DBs can do it for one mote, hell). Foot-Trapping Counter is fine, but it would need to stay as a rolled defense. Flowing Body Evasion should just be a perfect dodge that costs 4m. Pack-Saving Method is another perfect defense, but it should be costed at 5m and 4m instead of 3m and 2m. Running Through the Herd is fine, though I'm not sure if it should cost willpower, since Safety Among Enemies doesn't.

Def III: Hide-Toughening Essence is actually okay as a dice-adder, but should be 1m for 2 soak, up to as many motes as Stamina. No more stupid Soak-cap, plz. Armor-Forming is fine in the same way. Limb-Shielding Growth makes a shield that adds DV as normal shields (maybe upgradable permanents?). Scales of the Dragon probably shouldn't cost a willpower, and if it's scenelong then it shouldn't stack with the other soak-boosters. Invulnerable Moonsilver Carapace could be a perfect soak, costing 1wp and 2m per tick used, I suppose, though that could get abused really easily and is probably not a good idea.

Survival

Aside from Beast Instinct Method, which is supplanted by Excellencies, all of these charms are fine, except for the fact that almost all of them are overcosted.

Healing

The Pain Resistance charms are fine. Infection Resisting Method and Disease Purging Essence are both supplanted by excellencies. Bruise-Relief Technique and Halting the Scarlet Flow are probably undercosted. Lick Wound and Mother's Touch are alright.

Perception

Per I: Sense-Sharpening Change is an excellency. Heightened Sense method is a bit goofy- why three versions instead of five? Sense Borrowing Method is fine. Ever-Wary Fox needs to autodetect surprise (hell, DBs can do it scenelong for 2m). Observed Prey Instinct and Weather Scenting Method are fine. I don't see why Lunars even HAVE Unerring Earth Direction Sense, since they aren't Earth-aspected, but otherwise it's fine. Moonsilver-Scenting Sense, Wyld Sensing Instincts are fine. Can Lunars even get addicted to the Wyld? They're immune to it, aren't they? Resisting the Lure of Madness is alright, then, but it should really do in the Survival Tree, shouldn't it? Wyld Object Appraisal Method is fine. Harmony With Reality Technique is fine. Ritual of Lunar Stability is fine, though it smells more like a sorcery than a charm to me.

Per II: These are all fine.

Per III: These are all fine.

Per IV: These are all fine, except Blood on the Wind. Forget the beastman shit, this charm makes you a supernatural tracker.

Stealth

Stealthy Fox Method is an Excellency, as is Chameleon Skin Disguise. The rest are fine, except Trackless Passage Tech, which shouldn't cost willpower.

Lunars need WAY more Stealth Charms. Yeesh.

Interaction

Tale Spinning Mastery is an Excellency. Lion Roar Method, Wind-Speaking Method, and River of Words are fine.

Emotion Shaping Technique should probably be an Intimacy-creator rather than a Virtue-adder. Crowd-Inciting Method, Crowd-Calming Pronouncement, and Courage-Building Address are all overcosted like crazy, and overcomplicated besides. Glorious Battle Presence is fine, as is Foe-Taunting Utterance. Glib Tongue Tech should probably become a success-doubler ala Irresistable Salesman Spirit. Imposing Presence Attitude is an excellency, and so is Fearful Lunar Form. Mind-Blanking Fear Technique (lol The Delirium) is fine, except for the beastman form thing.

Unspeaking Aura of Dread is an excellency. Beast-Calming Method, Pack-Forming Presence are fine. Attention Demanding Presence needs a little reworking and uncomplication, but is fine in principle (it even has temporary willpower expenditure ala 2e). Animal Magnetism is fine, I guess, if Lunars really need a specific charm for being sexy.

Brotherhood of Lake and River smells more like a sorcery ala the Dragon-Blooded Brotherhood one. The charms that result from it are also in question as a result, I think. They could be co-opted into a Celestial Sorcery, I suppose.

Knowledge

Lore Speaking Method and Divining the Hidden Truth are alright. Might need some minor rewriting and uncomplication.

...Lunars have TWO Knowledge charms. I think that says it all about how messed up 1e Lunars were.

Spirit

Spirit Scenting Tech, Pulse of the Invisible are fine. Devil Restraining Grip is a mite overcosted, I think. Spirit-Maiming Essence Attack IS overcosted.

Sorcery

Form-Fixing Method should probably be a sorcery. Tattoo Cutting Wisdom might be a subset or variant of it. Moonsilver-Shaping Rite might as well be chucked, I think. The out-of-box Sorcery charms are fine as well.