aetherialDawn
2010-11-14, 11:31 PM
So, in a game I am currently playing (On the GitP Forums, no less.) I am an Alchemical Colossus.
As you may no, there are no canon rules for playing an Alchemical Colossus, but I decided not to let that stand in my way, and with the help of Rhyvurg (the ST) have made some! There's still plenty to add on, and I'd love critiques, ideas for more Colossus charms, and all the rest!
The basic rules for a Colossus body are as follows:
Essence 6 Colossi receive +8 Strength, +8 Stamina, +4 -0 health levels, and +4 -1 health levels from their size.
Essence 7 Colossi receive +12 Strength, +12 Stamina, +6 -0 health levels, and +6 -1 health levels from their size.
Colossi are rarely as much sheer combat machines as Creation’s warstriders, but their ability to animate themselves gives several enormous benefits. The first is that a Colossus suffers no mobility penalty for most actions, for they have no need of a pilot and have control of their own bodies with the same grace as ever. Their hands are still enormous in size, giving a -2 penalty to fine manipulations unless augmented by a charm, so many warstriders invest in some form of the Dexterity Augmentations for exactly this purpose. The Fourth Augmentation does not count, however, although the Sixth does. Other charms may not apply if the Storyteller deems it appropriate, but any charm which has a mote cost should always apply. Colossi take no penalties to Perception or Awareness rolls due to their construction, because their senses are not restricted as those of a warstrider pilot’s are.
Unlike warstriders, the exterior surfaces of Colossi Alchemicals are not purely of the Magical Materials, for such expense is unnecessary and inefficient. Their improved construction does allow Colossi to soak Lethal damage with their full stamina – and their vastly greater stamina improves their soak as well. They also apply half of their soak as natural hardness which can stack with armor. Colossi who desire the sort of armor warstriders can bring to bear, however, usually invest in simpler artifact plate of some kind. Power armor is theoretically possible, but almost unheard of in Autochthonia, as there are few direct threats which could require such sophistication and power together.
Due to their massive size, Colossi can cover ground at 10 times their ‘normal’ movement rate for Essence 6 Colossi, or 12 times for Essence 7, just as a warstrider – but also just as a warstrider, simply brushing up against trees and buildings exerts an automatic feat of strength towards breaking the object. Due to greater fine control, a Colossus can subtract their Dexterity from the normal (Strength/2, rounded up) that would be exerted in the automatic destruction attempt, to a minimum of 0 for the most graceful Colossi. Colossi take penalties for attempting to strike a small target, but only suffer a -2 external penalty rather than a -3 external penalty for striking a target under 10 feet tall.
Colossi take the same penalties to stealth as warstriders do; they cannot be concealed without the use of charms while moving, and even with charms such attempts increase their difficulty by 3. They can hide themselves while stationary at no particular penalty if properly camouflaged.
Colossi do not require a hearthstone or elemental core, nor do they have an attunement cost or mote cost to take actions. Their essence cores are in perfect harmony with their bodies, and they are animated by their own souls just as any Champion Alchemical, though their soulgems must be held inside a larger replica soulgem to properly control the entire body. Technically, this replica can be anywhere reasonably close to the head or torso, but few Colossi bother to move it from their foreheads to reduce the work involved in upgrading them.
Colossi take no penalties or damage from firing essence weapons, just as Noble warstriders do not.
Colossi require no maintenance save what a normal Alchemical might choose to take in the vats, although all times for refitting in the vats are doubled due to sheer scale; were the Alchemical’s very body not enhanced by its own magnified essence flows (which tie up much of the additional space of an Alchemical’s massively enlarged reservoir) it would take even longer. They use weapons just as warstriders do, though as mentioned Colossi differ in that they can also make use of massive suits of armor, though it is neither particularly rare nor common to do so.
Although they can make use of ancillary systems, only Moonsilver Colossi tend to bother, and then primarily with Essence Cloak systems, the most powerful stealth that Autochthonian engineers can create. Chameleon Shells are not totally unheard of, but only just, and no design has been successfully replicated; attempting to create one without the knowledge of the No-Moons is exceedingly difficult, requiring the Colossi intending to use it to have Savant 4+ and to create it themselves without any assistance from a person with less than Savant 3+. The artifact will not function for any other Colossus even should they also have the necessary Savant rating to make one themselves, and the artifact works only for Moonsilver Colossi. The knowledge of the Silver Pact, if acquired, would eliminate all these requirements with some simple reverse-engineering, however.
Short version: Stats by Wyld Mutations (the Huge mutation, specifically) otherwise a LOT like a Warstrider (Specifically, a Common/Noble one.) The following charm ended up being necessary to fulfill what I deemed an appropriate power level - that an Essence 6 Colossus who had not focused on combat should be able to outfit themselves with enough Augmentations to beat a single Common Warstrider without using any essence. It also seems to have worked well in general, from what I ran into building my character, with the limit on virtual charm slots only present to hopefully rein in any abuse of it that I didn't anticipate.
Augmentation Modeling Core
Cost: - [2m*]; Mins: (All Attributes) 2, Essence 6; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Colossus, Internal**
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
*The commitment of this charm increases by 1m for every three charm slots beyond six which are filled at the time.
**The augmentation submodules of this charm are not fully internal, and look identical to real augmentations.
This Colossus charm utilizes the simplicity of design that massive size enables to provide space for several configurable augmentations. No more than one copy of this charm may be used at once.
The internal portion of this charm is a sphere of adamant holding starmetal circuitry and moonsilver slots, which contain starmetal cartridges connecting aumentation submodules to this charm. It essentially provides a number of virtual charm slots. Only a number of augmentation submodules equal to the virtual slots of this charm can be equipped at once, but more can be kept on retainer at the vats. Each augmentation submodule is exactly the same as a real augmentation save that it is also modeled in the starmetal cartridge connected to this charm, and it can be swapped out in one-quarter the time of an actual charm as the process is streamlined by the use of additional space. This charm starts with six dedicated virtual charm slots and an equal number of Augmentation submodules, and the charm may never hold more than (Essence x2) virtual charm slots.
A single use of Vat Surrogate Reweaving Technique can reconfigure this entire charm, but creating arrays involving its submodules works normally.
Submodules:
Charm Slot Submodules:
Dedicated Virtual Charm Slot, 3 xp: Provides an additional virtual charm slot useable only for caste or favored attributes. This submodule may be swapped with a General Charm Slot submodule at a cost of 2 xp.
General Virtual Charm Slot, 5 xp: Provides an additional virtual charm slot useable for any attribute.
Augmentation Submodules:
Each normal augmentation is a submodule costing 2 xp, but Transpuissant (Attribute) Perfection and Clockwork (Attribute) Perfection Nodes are too complex for this charm to handle.
Any viable Augmentation already possessed may be converted into a submodule of this charm for free, but the reverse is impossible.
The other homebrew charms that I plan to keep:
Remote Drone-Body Guidance
Cost: 15m (+1wp/day)[2m]; Mins: Perception 6, Essence 6; Type: Simple (Speed 5 in long ticks)
Keywords: Colossus, Obvious, Internal
Duration: Varies
Prerequisite Charms: None
At need the Champions of Autochthonia can sacrifice their power and size to suit more delicate tasks, such as dealing directly with the populat in a less intimidating fashion or infiltrating the cramped tunnels of a gremlin hive. The installed components of this Charm resemble nothing so much as a simplified, brand new Alchemical Exalted body in an orichalcum- and starmetal-studded sarcophagus mounted on the colossus’ back. The inert clay flesh and brass bones of this body closely resemble the freshly-made human-scale body of the Exalt’s past, but the Essence broths, mystical inclusions and animating spark are absent or only present in trace amounts. It has only a small Essence reservoir and an empty soulgem socket.
When the Champion activates this Charm he begins the five minute-long process of crystallizing and calibrating the spiritual access nodes and a faux soulgem for the body. When his DV refreshes the body is ready. A surge of his own mote-laden blood is pumped into the drone’s veins and the false soulgem is installed, activating the facsimile Exalt. The false soulgem acts as an arcane link, transferring the bulk of the Exalt’s consciousness between the two. Switching between bodies requires a Speed 5/DV -1 Miscellaneous action, after which the transfer is completed on the character’s next action tick. While one body is active, the other is inactive and undergoes no essence respiration.
The base cost of this Charm is 15 motes. This produces a drone-body that possesses the lower of the Alchemical’s own rating or five dots in each of its Attributes and Abilities, the same Specialties and permanent Essence 2. It constitutes an alternate body for the Exalt and must refit in the vats to install and switch out Charms and Arrays, of which it has access to any and all that the colossus knows and for which it meets the trait minimums.
When the Charm is first learned the body is outfitted with whatever load out the Exalt desires. The Colossus’s Motivation, Intimacies, Willpower, and Virtues are all shared, and the drone-body has its own Personal and Peripheral Essence pools calculated normally, starting with 0 motes + any additional motes beyond the cost of this charm the Colossus transfers. It has Dedicated charm slots equal to the Colossus, but it costs one additional mote per General slot to copy over any of the Colossus’s General charm slots. The drone-body begins with the higher of the Colossus’s clarity or its own minimum Clarity – any difference from its minimum clarity is made up with temporary Clarity. Using the drone-body to reduce the Colossus’s temporary clarity is possible, allowing the Colossus to lose a single point of temporary Clarity upon reintegration if the drone-body lost at least one.
Should the drone-body be killed or destroyed it melts into slag like a real Alchemical, but it leaves behind no useful amounts of materials, the volatile Essence matrices that fabricated its magical material components dissipating with the noxious fumes of its Essence broth. All that is left is a brass skeleton in a wet pile of clay and the inert false soulgem. Ending the Charm prematurely effectively amputates the colossus’ Remote Drone-Body Guidance (see p. 118 of The Manual of Exalted Power—Alchemicals), though if the drone remains intact it may be reactivated as long as the Exalt remains in the same plane of existence. If the drone-body returns to its sarcophagus before the Charm ends, Remote-Drone Body Guidance is undamaged and it ends normally. Returning the drone-body to its sarcophagus adds its Peripheral Essence motes to the Colossus’s pool. Personal Essence motes are lost.
Implanted Artifacts which the drone-body can support can be transferred to the body at the time of activation, but are lost to the Colossus until the body is re-integrated. Due to the nature of the body’s activation, up to three charms may be linked, allowing the Colossus to construct an appropriate array for the current situation.
Installing this charm multiple times is rarely done; activating any of the drone-bodies fries all others into useless slag, although it might theoretically see use for having multiple loadouts. Most Colossi who need such flexibility invest in Vat Surrogate Reweaving Technique instead.
Submodules:
Champion Heart Efficiency Matrix (Charisma 7): Refining and expanding the Essence reservoir heart within his drone-body, this submodule raises its permanent Essence by one each time it is purchased, to a maximum of 5. Such a powerful engine requires greater motivational spark. If the Exalt wishes to take advantage of these higher Essence ratings in his drone-body, he must commit an additional five motes per dot when activating the Charm. The Exalt may utilize lower ratings for lower costs even if his drone-body has a higher maximum Essence rating.
Ceaseless Labor Engrams (Wits 8): Embedding thin sheets of adamant circuitry in the Alchemical’s brain, motivated by a sparking starmetal spur when Remote Drone-Body Guidance is active, this submodule allows the Exalt’s colossus body to carry out some functions while his supraconsciousness is away. By committing five motes while performing the Miscellaneous action to transfer consciousness from the colossus to the drone-body, the Exalt may set his true body to a single dramatic action taking no more than a day to complete, utilizing its own traits and applying any Charms he chooses when he performs the transfer. The body will continue to attempt the action and will even attempt to defend itself if assaulted, applying DVs normally, but it is otherwise incapable of action.
Colossus-Champion Folding Gates (Intelligence 8): This submodule requires 25 hours to install, as it consists of a number of circular gates installed in complex patterns throughout the body of the Colossus. Installing the charm with this submodule is a choice, and results in a fundamentally different charm – rather than the normal method, the Colossus can create a Drone-body by spinning the gates in the proper series and folding itself away into a Champion-sized form which behaves exactly as normal, save that any purchases of the Champion Heart Efficiency Matrix apply for free, and it costs no willpower to maintain the Champion-sized form. It is still possible to deploy both Champion and Colossi forms at once, but the physical cables connecting both negate the possibility of movement beyond roughly 20 yards. This is most useful for allowing one body to aid in repairing the other. The charm otherwise behaves the same. Cutting the charm short early unfolds the Colossus body instantly over a single tick, but destroys the Champion body and inflicts five levels of unsoakable Aggravated damage to the Colossus as the mighty clockwork and calibrated gates crunch together. This version operates automatically should the Champion body ‘die’. Should the Colossus body die the Champion body melts to slag as well.
Spherical Repulsion Generator
Cost: +1wp [2m]; Mins: Dexterity 7, Essence 6; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Colossus, Obvious, Internal
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Impenetrable Repulsor Field
This Colossus charm entirely reconstructs its prerequisite, incorporating it into an internalized form as part of a massive orichalcum sphere with thousands of tiny adamant pistons oriented towards it in a shell. When the Alchemical activates Impenetrable Repulsor Field, a large section of his chest slides aside, exposing this sphere for the duration of the charm. By spending an additional willpower, however, the Alchemical can cause all of the adamant pistons to fire at once, causing a massive crack as they hit the orichalcum generator at the same time, momentarily compressing the burst until it explodes outwards with greater force, perfectly parrying every attack which would pass within (Essence x2) yards and originates outside this area with a golden sphere of light. The Alchemical may also parry attacks originating within the sphere, but the calculations to do so mean that he must be defending himself and/or something he is taking the Defend Other action for.
Submodules:
Precision Circumference-Tuning Calculations (1xp): This submodule allows the Colossus to select any viable radius for the charm it applies to, as long as it is not further than (Essence x2) yards.
Projectile-Defying Citizen Protection (Essence 7, 4xp): This submodule allows the Colossus to apply the effects of the charm to a single mass combat unit adjacent to the Colossus, as long as that unit is in close formation. As a side-effect, the Colossus may select the single additional target afforded full protection within the field without needing a Defend Other action.
While the other two charms are mine, credit for the original Remote Drone-Body Guidance goes to Plague of Hats from the rpg.net forums. I have edited it since making use of it, however, to fix a few things which seemed to need fixing, and limit Colossi more explicitly to one Drone-Body at a time, although there's still some use to having multiple if you just absolutely need a different loadout on each and are willing to fry all but one to get the right tool for the job.
I also added a submodule which, while developed based on an unrelated flash of inspiration involving my very angry Colossus folding out for intimidation, has been pointed out to work very similarly to how Keychain of Creation's Elegant Nova of Progression stores her own Colossus body in Elsewhere. Do note that my version does not require Elsewhere to function, instead being more of a highly specialized version of Technomorphic Integration Engine, but the flavor is ultimately up to the ST. Just as with the flavor, some STs may want to require Technomorphic Integration Engine to use the submodule; this is also perfectly fine and a good idea, but I saw this submodule as specialized and seperate enough to not require it.
My further plans for charms include:
Pilot-Integrating Auxiliary Core, which would allow anyone with the ability to channel Essence to integrate into the Colossus and help pilot - depending on the relevant skills, the pilot might be a sort of 'gunner' or actually take control of the Colossus's motor functions. For example, a Dawn Caste Solar is likely to be far more martially adept than a Starmetal Caste Colossus, but the Colossus can still bring massive benefits over a Warstrider - greatly reduced penalties, Alchemical Charms, and its own Essence Pool.
Maker-Edifying Factory Deployment, which would allow the Colossus to deploy a miniature Factory-Cathedral with unique benefits. Autochthon is the Great Maker, after all - a Factory-Cathedral blessed by him, built by his Savants, and powered by his Chosen is unlikely to be strictly normal.
Rotational Pattern-Fusion Turbines, which would be a very, VERY serious mote-regaining charm powered by Willpower and/or Virtue Channels. possibly stunts. The turbines do not in any way move in spirals at all.
Endless Torrent Cannon-Array, which would be a MASSIVE number of lasers. Basically a self-contained attack in a charm. Not so sure about this... or it could be drone-based, or replicate an appropriate attack much like Cascade of Cutting Terror.
Oh, and a final note: I'm not planning to create Municipal rules... yet. I imagine that it would go something like 1) Look at Mandate of Heaven for ideas, just like I did for Colossus/Warstriders. 2) Discard Mandate of Heaven rules. 3) ??? 4) Write unofficial Compass of Celestial Directions: Autochthonia. 5) Profit!
As you may no, there are no canon rules for playing an Alchemical Colossus, but I decided not to let that stand in my way, and with the help of Rhyvurg (the ST) have made some! There's still plenty to add on, and I'd love critiques, ideas for more Colossus charms, and all the rest!
The basic rules for a Colossus body are as follows:
Essence 6 Colossi receive +8 Strength, +8 Stamina, +4 -0 health levels, and +4 -1 health levels from their size.
Essence 7 Colossi receive +12 Strength, +12 Stamina, +6 -0 health levels, and +6 -1 health levels from their size.
Colossi are rarely as much sheer combat machines as Creation’s warstriders, but their ability to animate themselves gives several enormous benefits. The first is that a Colossus suffers no mobility penalty for most actions, for they have no need of a pilot and have control of their own bodies with the same grace as ever. Their hands are still enormous in size, giving a -2 penalty to fine manipulations unless augmented by a charm, so many warstriders invest in some form of the Dexterity Augmentations for exactly this purpose. The Fourth Augmentation does not count, however, although the Sixth does. Other charms may not apply if the Storyteller deems it appropriate, but any charm which has a mote cost should always apply. Colossi take no penalties to Perception or Awareness rolls due to their construction, because their senses are not restricted as those of a warstrider pilot’s are.
Unlike warstriders, the exterior surfaces of Colossi Alchemicals are not purely of the Magical Materials, for such expense is unnecessary and inefficient. Their improved construction does allow Colossi to soak Lethal damage with their full stamina – and their vastly greater stamina improves their soak as well. They also apply half of their soak as natural hardness which can stack with armor. Colossi who desire the sort of armor warstriders can bring to bear, however, usually invest in simpler artifact plate of some kind. Power armor is theoretically possible, but almost unheard of in Autochthonia, as there are few direct threats which could require such sophistication and power together.
Due to their massive size, Colossi can cover ground at 10 times their ‘normal’ movement rate for Essence 6 Colossi, or 12 times for Essence 7, just as a warstrider – but also just as a warstrider, simply brushing up against trees and buildings exerts an automatic feat of strength towards breaking the object. Due to greater fine control, a Colossus can subtract their Dexterity from the normal (Strength/2, rounded up) that would be exerted in the automatic destruction attempt, to a minimum of 0 for the most graceful Colossi. Colossi take penalties for attempting to strike a small target, but only suffer a -2 external penalty rather than a -3 external penalty for striking a target under 10 feet tall.
Colossi take the same penalties to stealth as warstriders do; they cannot be concealed without the use of charms while moving, and even with charms such attempts increase their difficulty by 3. They can hide themselves while stationary at no particular penalty if properly camouflaged.
Colossi do not require a hearthstone or elemental core, nor do they have an attunement cost or mote cost to take actions. Their essence cores are in perfect harmony with their bodies, and they are animated by their own souls just as any Champion Alchemical, though their soulgems must be held inside a larger replica soulgem to properly control the entire body. Technically, this replica can be anywhere reasonably close to the head or torso, but few Colossi bother to move it from their foreheads to reduce the work involved in upgrading them.
Colossi take no penalties or damage from firing essence weapons, just as Noble warstriders do not.
Colossi require no maintenance save what a normal Alchemical might choose to take in the vats, although all times for refitting in the vats are doubled due to sheer scale; were the Alchemical’s very body not enhanced by its own magnified essence flows (which tie up much of the additional space of an Alchemical’s massively enlarged reservoir) it would take even longer. They use weapons just as warstriders do, though as mentioned Colossi differ in that they can also make use of massive suits of armor, though it is neither particularly rare nor common to do so.
Although they can make use of ancillary systems, only Moonsilver Colossi tend to bother, and then primarily with Essence Cloak systems, the most powerful stealth that Autochthonian engineers can create. Chameleon Shells are not totally unheard of, but only just, and no design has been successfully replicated; attempting to create one without the knowledge of the No-Moons is exceedingly difficult, requiring the Colossi intending to use it to have Savant 4+ and to create it themselves without any assistance from a person with less than Savant 3+. The artifact will not function for any other Colossus even should they also have the necessary Savant rating to make one themselves, and the artifact works only for Moonsilver Colossi. The knowledge of the Silver Pact, if acquired, would eliminate all these requirements with some simple reverse-engineering, however.
Short version: Stats by Wyld Mutations (the Huge mutation, specifically) otherwise a LOT like a Warstrider (Specifically, a Common/Noble one.) The following charm ended up being necessary to fulfill what I deemed an appropriate power level - that an Essence 6 Colossus who had not focused on combat should be able to outfit themselves with enough Augmentations to beat a single Common Warstrider without using any essence. It also seems to have worked well in general, from what I ran into building my character, with the limit on virtual charm slots only present to hopefully rein in any abuse of it that I didn't anticipate.
Augmentation Modeling Core
Cost: - [2m*]; Mins: (All Attributes) 2, Essence 6; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Colossus, Internal**
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None
*The commitment of this charm increases by 1m for every three charm slots beyond six which are filled at the time.
**The augmentation submodules of this charm are not fully internal, and look identical to real augmentations.
This Colossus charm utilizes the simplicity of design that massive size enables to provide space for several configurable augmentations. No more than one copy of this charm may be used at once.
The internal portion of this charm is a sphere of adamant holding starmetal circuitry and moonsilver slots, which contain starmetal cartridges connecting aumentation submodules to this charm. It essentially provides a number of virtual charm slots. Only a number of augmentation submodules equal to the virtual slots of this charm can be equipped at once, but more can be kept on retainer at the vats. Each augmentation submodule is exactly the same as a real augmentation save that it is also modeled in the starmetal cartridge connected to this charm, and it can be swapped out in one-quarter the time of an actual charm as the process is streamlined by the use of additional space. This charm starts with six dedicated virtual charm slots and an equal number of Augmentation submodules, and the charm may never hold more than (Essence x2) virtual charm slots.
A single use of Vat Surrogate Reweaving Technique can reconfigure this entire charm, but creating arrays involving its submodules works normally.
Submodules:
Charm Slot Submodules:
Dedicated Virtual Charm Slot, 3 xp: Provides an additional virtual charm slot useable only for caste or favored attributes. This submodule may be swapped with a General Charm Slot submodule at a cost of 2 xp.
General Virtual Charm Slot, 5 xp: Provides an additional virtual charm slot useable for any attribute.
Augmentation Submodules:
Each normal augmentation is a submodule costing 2 xp, but Transpuissant (Attribute) Perfection and Clockwork (Attribute) Perfection Nodes are too complex for this charm to handle.
Any viable Augmentation already possessed may be converted into a submodule of this charm for free, but the reverse is impossible.
The other homebrew charms that I plan to keep:
Remote Drone-Body Guidance
Cost: 15m (+1wp/day)[2m]; Mins: Perception 6, Essence 6; Type: Simple (Speed 5 in long ticks)
Keywords: Colossus, Obvious, Internal
Duration: Varies
Prerequisite Charms: None
At need the Champions of Autochthonia can sacrifice their power and size to suit more delicate tasks, such as dealing directly with the populat in a less intimidating fashion or infiltrating the cramped tunnels of a gremlin hive. The installed components of this Charm resemble nothing so much as a simplified, brand new Alchemical Exalted body in an orichalcum- and starmetal-studded sarcophagus mounted on the colossus’ back. The inert clay flesh and brass bones of this body closely resemble the freshly-made human-scale body of the Exalt’s past, but the Essence broths, mystical inclusions and animating spark are absent or only present in trace amounts. It has only a small Essence reservoir and an empty soulgem socket.
When the Champion activates this Charm he begins the five minute-long process of crystallizing and calibrating the spiritual access nodes and a faux soulgem for the body. When his DV refreshes the body is ready. A surge of his own mote-laden blood is pumped into the drone’s veins and the false soulgem is installed, activating the facsimile Exalt. The false soulgem acts as an arcane link, transferring the bulk of the Exalt’s consciousness between the two. Switching between bodies requires a Speed 5/DV -1 Miscellaneous action, after which the transfer is completed on the character’s next action tick. While one body is active, the other is inactive and undergoes no essence respiration.
The base cost of this Charm is 15 motes. This produces a drone-body that possesses the lower of the Alchemical’s own rating or five dots in each of its Attributes and Abilities, the same Specialties and permanent Essence 2. It constitutes an alternate body for the Exalt and must refit in the vats to install and switch out Charms and Arrays, of which it has access to any and all that the colossus knows and for which it meets the trait minimums.
When the Charm is first learned the body is outfitted with whatever load out the Exalt desires. The Colossus’s Motivation, Intimacies, Willpower, and Virtues are all shared, and the drone-body has its own Personal and Peripheral Essence pools calculated normally, starting with 0 motes + any additional motes beyond the cost of this charm the Colossus transfers. It has Dedicated charm slots equal to the Colossus, but it costs one additional mote per General slot to copy over any of the Colossus’s General charm slots. The drone-body begins with the higher of the Colossus’s clarity or its own minimum Clarity – any difference from its minimum clarity is made up with temporary Clarity. Using the drone-body to reduce the Colossus’s temporary clarity is possible, allowing the Colossus to lose a single point of temporary Clarity upon reintegration if the drone-body lost at least one.
Should the drone-body be killed or destroyed it melts into slag like a real Alchemical, but it leaves behind no useful amounts of materials, the volatile Essence matrices that fabricated its magical material components dissipating with the noxious fumes of its Essence broth. All that is left is a brass skeleton in a wet pile of clay and the inert false soulgem. Ending the Charm prematurely effectively amputates the colossus’ Remote Drone-Body Guidance (see p. 118 of The Manual of Exalted Power—Alchemicals), though if the drone remains intact it may be reactivated as long as the Exalt remains in the same plane of existence. If the drone-body returns to its sarcophagus before the Charm ends, Remote-Drone Body Guidance is undamaged and it ends normally. Returning the drone-body to its sarcophagus adds its Peripheral Essence motes to the Colossus’s pool. Personal Essence motes are lost.
Implanted Artifacts which the drone-body can support can be transferred to the body at the time of activation, but are lost to the Colossus until the body is re-integrated. Due to the nature of the body’s activation, up to three charms may be linked, allowing the Colossus to construct an appropriate array for the current situation.
Installing this charm multiple times is rarely done; activating any of the drone-bodies fries all others into useless slag, although it might theoretically see use for having multiple loadouts. Most Colossi who need such flexibility invest in Vat Surrogate Reweaving Technique instead.
Submodules:
Champion Heart Efficiency Matrix (Charisma 7): Refining and expanding the Essence reservoir heart within his drone-body, this submodule raises its permanent Essence by one each time it is purchased, to a maximum of 5. Such a powerful engine requires greater motivational spark. If the Exalt wishes to take advantage of these higher Essence ratings in his drone-body, he must commit an additional five motes per dot when activating the Charm. The Exalt may utilize lower ratings for lower costs even if his drone-body has a higher maximum Essence rating.
Ceaseless Labor Engrams (Wits 8): Embedding thin sheets of adamant circuitry in the Alchemical’s brain, motivated by a sparking starmetal spur when Remote Drone-Body Guidance is active, this submodule allows the Exalt’s colossus body to carry out some functions while his supraconsciousness is away. By committing five motes while performing the Miscellaneous action to transfer consciousness from the colossus to the drone-body, the Exalt may set his true body to a single dramatic action taking no more than a day to complete, utilizing its own traits and applying any Charms he chooses when he performs the transfer. The body will continue to attempt the action and will even attempt to defend itself if assaulted, applying DVs normally, but it is otherwise incapable of action.
Colossus-Champion Folding Gates (Intelligence 8): This submodule requires 25 hours to install, as it consists of a number of circular gates installed in complex patterns throughout the body of the Colossus. Installing the charm with this submodule is a choice, and results in a fundamentally different charm – rather than the normal method, the Colossus can create a Drone-body by spinning the gates in the proper series and folding itself away into a Champion-sized form which behaves exactly as normal, save that any purchases of the Champion Heart Efficiency Matrix apply for free, and it costs no willpower to maintain the Champion-sized form. It is still possible to deploy both Champion and Colossi forms at once, but the physical cables connecting both negate the possibility of movement beyond roughly 20 yards. This is most useful for allowing one body to aid in repairing the other. The charm otherwise behaves the same. Cutting the charm short early unfolds the Colossus body instantly over a single tick, but destroys the Champion body and inflicts five levels of unsoakable Aggravated damage to the Colossus as the mighty clockwork and calibrated gates crunch together. This version operates automatically should the Champion body ‘die’. Should the Colossus body die the Champion body melts to slag as well.
Spherical Repulsion Generator
Cost: +1wp [2m]; Mins: Dexterity 7, Essence 6; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Colossus, Obvious, Internal
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Impenetrable Repulsor Field
This Colossus charm entirely reconstructs its prerequisite, incorporating it into an internalized form as part of a massive orichalcum sphere with thousands of tiny adamant pistons oriented towards it in a shell. When the Alchemical activates Impenetrable Repulsor Field, a large section of his chest slides aside, exposing this sphere for the duration of the charm. By spending an additional willpower, however, the Alchemical can cause all of the adamant pistons to fire at once, causing a massive crack as they hit the orichalcum generator at the same time, momentarily compressing the burst until it explodes outwards with greater force, perfectly parrying every attack which would pass within (Essence x2) yards and originates outside this area with a golden sphere of light. The Alchemical may also parry attacks originating within the sphere, but the calculations to do so mean that he must be defending himself and/or something he is taking the Defend Other action for.
Submodules:
Precision Circumference-Tuning Calculations (1xp): This submodule allows the Colossus to select any viable radius for the charm it applies to, as long as it is not further than (Essence x2) yards.
Projectile-Defying Citizen Protection (Essence 7, 4xp): This submodule allows the Colossus to apply the effects of the charm to a single mass combat unit adjacent to the Colossus, as long as that unit is in close formation. As a side-effect, the Colossus may select the single additional target afforded full protection within the field without needing a Defend Other action.
While the other two charms are mine, credit for the original Remote Drone-Body Guidance goes to Plague of Hats from the rpg.net forums. I have edited it since making use of it, however, to fix a few things which seemed to need fixing, and limit Colossi more explicitly to one Drone-Body at a time, although there's still some use to having multiple if you just absolutely need a different loadout on each and are willing to fry all but one to get the right tool for the job.
I also added a submodule which, while developed based on an unrelated flash of inspiration involving my very angry Colossus folding out for intimidation, has been pointed out to work very similarly to how Keychain of Creation's Elegant Nova of Progression stores her own Colossus body in Elsewhere. Do note that my version does not require Elsewhere to function, instead being more of a highly specialized version of Technomorphic Integration Engine, but the flavor is ultimately up to the ST. Just as with the flavor, some STs may want to require Technomorphic Integration Engine to use the submodule; this is also perfectly fine and a good idea, but I saw this submodule as specialized and seperate enough to not require it.
My further plans for charms include:
Pilot-Integrating Auxiliary Core, which would allow anyone with the ability to channel Essence to integrate into the Colossus and help pilot - depending on the relevant skills, the pilot might be a sort of 'gunner' or actually take control of the Colossus's motor functions. For example, a Dawn Caste Solar is likely to be far more martially adept than a Starmetal Caste Colossus, but the Colossus can still bring massive benefits over a Warstrider - greatly reduced penalties, Alchemical Charms, and its own Essence Pool.
Maker-Edifying Factory Deployment, which would allow the Colossus to deploy a miniature Factory-Cathedral with unique benefits. Autochthon is the Great Maker, after all - a Factory-Cathedral blessed by him, built by his Savants, and powered by his Chosen is unlikely to be strictly normal.
Rotational Pattern-Fusion Turbines, which would be a very, VERY serious mote-regaining charm powered by Willpower and/or Virtue Channels. possibly stunts. The turbines do not in any way move in spirals at all.
Endless Torrent Cannon-Array, which would be a MASSIVE number of lasers. Basically a self-contained attack in a charm. Not so sure about this... or it could be drone-based, or replicate an appropriate attack much like Cascade of Cutting Terror.
Oh, and a final note: I'm not planning to create Municipal rules... yet. I imagine that it would go something like 1) Look at Mandate of Heaven for ideas, just like I did for Colossus/Warstriders. 2) Discard Mandate of Heaven rules. 3) ??? 4) Write unofficial Compass of Celestial Directions: Autochthonia. 5) Profit!