Sorcery/DarlothTheTwistingOfSmallMagicsOldVersion

The Twisting of Small Magics

Cost: 10 motes
Circle: Terrestrial (Emerald)

When the sorcerer casts this spell, which takes the usual amount of shaping, they reach towards their intended target (who must be within Essence x 10 yards) and make a ripping motion in the air. Any non-personal charm-based effect currently active on that target is twisted, imploded and generally rent asunder by the magic. Any effect active on the target that the target themselves has motes committed towards (such as most scene-long defensive charms) is also destabilized, but the target may reflexively pay (the sorcerer's Essence) in motes for each charm they wish to save. If they do so, this extra essence re-stabilizes the charm and it continues as if the spell had never been cast.

This spell also has a Celestial version, usually called the Charm Snuffing Incantation, which costs 25 motes, and instantly and without any possibility of defense strips every committed effect from a single target. However, neither version works if the target manages to place themselves out of line-of-sight of the sorcerer before they complete this spell.

Comments

Given the sheer number of charms and prerequisites required to learn things like Spell Shattering Palm, Sequential Charm Disruption, and other such charms, doesn't a single first-circle spell seem a bit easy? More to the point, there's no Essence-based resistance, so this simple spell, cast by a lowly Essence 3 dragon blooded, halts the persistents protecting an ISP, even if said ISP is Essence 8. Sure, the ISP can pay up 3 motes per charm to keep things active, but then you're forcing an Essence 8 character to pay up 12 motes to keep their FLB, FFBS, JiAS, and Form-type charms up, when you only paid 10 motes to cast the spell in the first place. Compare this to any of the canon charm-disruption techniques, all of which require you to use more essence than they spent in the first place, have a high relevant ability, and a pretty high essence. Even worse, you note that there's a Celestial version that just works. So now you've got an upstart young Lunar or Sidereal just canceling the effects of oh, I don't know... the Unconquered Sun? I just worry that a spell, with no real prerequisites, and a fairly simple (and static!) cost is quite a bit more powerful than the specialty SMA charms we've seen that can do this kind of thing. - GregLink

Forcing a character that is particularly harshly affected by the spell to spend, overall, two more motes than the caster after spending two turns to do so, with no other effect? I wouldn't be particularly incensed myself. CSI (Charm Scene Investigation?) is a little worrying, but do consider the requisite time necessary to cast the spell in the first place; any powerful Exalt (or, let's say, ooh, the Unconquered Sun) is going to turn you into a thin greasy smear before you finish. Unless your Circlemates help out in an astounding demonstration of teamwork and potent stunts, in which case you to deserve to momentarily open a chink in Sol Inviticus's defences.

If you're concerned about the balance on CSI: Charmbased Scenelong Interruption, I'd suggest imposing a 'this spell does not work on beings of higher Essence than the user' restriction as a house rule, but I wouldn't say it's necessary. And as for no prerequisites, have you considered the whole learning Sorcery and finding the spell in the first place thing? Overall, I think it's a bold effort to balance the stakes against sorcery-influencing Charms, and quite a well-considered one too. It just needs more flashy effects...DeathBySurfeit

It was brewed at around midnight, when I was tired and strangely cranky, and after we had a big debate in my game over whether sorcery should affect charms... we decided emerald countermagic certainly should -not-, but... Someone has been cursed, by a charm-using exalt. What to do? How to end this... it's actually really, really hard. And some of those charms are just 'blah - they take damage/penalty/whatever' with indefinate duration. Sequential Charm Disruption Technique is 2 charms into a martial art, pre-form, and MA 5 Essence 4. Aside from it being sidereal martial arts, it seems fairly easy to get... Celestial circle sorcery is Occult 4, Essence 4, doesn't have all of the other horrible effects SeqCharm-Disrupt gets... and is better at one thing, as sorcery usually is. Also, it costs 2 willpower. I think most of the charm-based essence-fiddling effects are way over-costed and over-prereqed anyway... Power Disrupting Blow (castebook twilight) costs 1 perm willpower per turn, counts as charm use for those turns, and is essence 6... Admittedly, it does stop you using charms at all, but still. If we're going to compare canon charms, I think there are areas with so many bad examples, it's sometimes pointless. Unfortunately, charm cancellation and essence-manipulation is one of those areas. Still, thanks muchly for commenting, I'd much rather have something to debate than just see my pages sit there with nothing written on them!
-- Darloth

Actually, if this was Celestial (and Solar) circle rather than Emerald (and Celestial) I'd be a /lot/ less likely to complain. Upping to an Ess 4 casting for the 10m version would make me muy muy happy, as then the whole concept of "while I cast, you kill me" really works. - GregLink, agreeing with many of your points, just not the circle of the spell.

I might agree that the terrestrial version needs perhaps a resistance roll... but that involves much rolling, and I was trying to keep it simple. I might rehash with some sort of Essence based roll-off, would that help? However, I still think that the celestial effect is reasonable. Still, I could add an essence-bid system to that, so that BOTH sides could continue bidding essence to cancel/save effects, which might be rather cool, and make it slightly less 'wow, need that spell'.
-- Darloth