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Xefas
2011-02-07, 03:38 AM
Telum, the Interwoven Network is a hypothetical Infernal with the Triumphant Howl of the Devil Tiger tree. I've wanted to do a Heretic Titan for a while now as a simple Homebrew exercise, but now I actually have the opportunity to play one in a PbP game, which finally motivated me to get off my rump and give it a go. The First Excellency is first, as I think it's the most indicative of what's to come in a Primordial's tree. Then the urge, torment, precipitous fiat, special caste, flaw of invulnerability, and then onto the rest of the charms.

First Telum Excellency
Cost: 1m per die; Mins: Essence 1; Type: Reflexive (Step 1 for attacker; Step 2 for defender)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

The Interwoven Network is, first and foremost, neutral towards the pedantic musings of "right" or "wrong", "good" or "evil", "should" or "shouldn't"; it is amoral in the strictest sense of the word. It cares only for the creation and sharing of information, as well as the obliteration of anything that inhibits the progression of new thoughts and ideas. Because Telum views things entirely in thoughts and information, the physical destruction of a person who obstructs the march of progress, and the social destruction of his ill-conceived opinions that causes him to become an obstruction is one and the same. Similarly, those who would harm knowledge that is rare, valuable, or cannot otherwise be recovered are entropic defects in the system that must be dealt with.

Telum is also known as the All Encompassing Matrix, for it strives to link all things together. It regards loners and antisocial folk to be, at best, misguided flaws that require reprogramming or, at worst, unnecessary baggage upon the system that may be deleted without harm to the greater whole. As a corollary, the Interwoven Network cannot help but oppose things that explicitly hide or prevent access. It wants all things to be open to everything else. "Security" is a flaw in a broken system. "Modesty" is outdated. "Secrets" are games to be deciphered. "Taboo" or "Tradition" is oppressive nonsense.

Because of its ideology of cooperation, Telum never takes action alone, unless it is to rally support from others for further, joint action. If at all possible, the Interwoven Network will remain a subtle enabler, never truly felt, but always present, driving others to collect, preserve, and share information.

If it reaches the height of its power, Telum will reach as an invisible presence throughout the entirety of Creation, linking all things together, and ushering in a new age of information, innovation, and community.

Characters may always apply this Charm to rolls that directly gather or communicate information, as well as rolls that aid another person in accomplishing the character's goals in their stead. For example, a character could not augment an Athletics check to leap a chasm to recover an ancient text, but they could augment an Athletics check to throw their friend across the chasm to recover the text for them. However, even if they were alone, they could still use this charm to augment an Investigation roll to discern another's Motivation, for this involves directly gathering information.

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The Telumaic Urge (The Urge to Collect)

Telumaic Urges inflict an insatiable desire on those who bare it to make the hidden known to all, to frustrate attempts to hide or protect sensitive information, and to preserve information, no matter how offensive or disliked it might be. Lies and secrets are the barriers that prevent progress of every kind. Lovers destroy their relationship with a lack of communication, nations war over biases and personal misconceptions, the world shakes when those that have true power are incapable of conveying their feelings and having others understand them. If this were to stop, the universe itself could enter a golden age the likes of which none have witnessed since the dawn of time. Or so goes the ideology of the Interwoven Network.

High Compassion Telumaic Princes, though uncommon, embody this ideal while applying their own altruistic slant. Telum would eliminate meaningless conflict so that the world can progress, whereas the Prince in question might do so for the sake of the safety and happiness of others. Those with high Conviction most often realize that knowledge is power, and being the ultimate broker of knowledge stands to gain them quite a bit. Even if we're all equal information-wise, there always needs to be someone taking the reigns, who becomes a little more "equal" than everyone else. Princes with high Temperance know that to live without arbitrary boundaries is to truly know one's self. A world that knows no boundaries to its ideas is the true world, and the one we live in is a falsehood. High Valor Princes take to the revelation of information with disturbing zeal. If they see a vault, they take it as a personal challenge and shatter it; not because they want what's inside, but because they couldn't stand to not know what it was.

Specific Examples of Telumaic Urges might include:

-Secure and broadcast the contents of every piece of information stored within the Forbidding Manse of Ivy to the entirety of Yu-Shan.

-Create and implement a single, united language throughout the entirety of Creation.

-Reveal the falsehoods and misconceptions within the Immaculate Philosophy, and force every single practitioner to understand that they've been centering their lives around an astounding lie.

-Verify if the existence of the Loom of Fate obviates the existence of Free Will for mortals. If so, make this knowledge freely available to everyone.

The Torment of the Interwoven Network: An Infernal that accumulates 10 points of Limit suffers the disappointment of Telum. For the next 25 hours, the Infernal's thoughts and intentions are telepathically broadcast to every sentient entity within (Essence x 20 yards), as well as their exact location in relation to that entity. In addition, any entity that the Infernal has as an intimacy for (positive or negative) instantly learns the single piece of knowledge that the Infernal would least like them to know at that point in time.

Precipitous Fiat: Pointless Censorship Deletion
The All Encompassing Matrix cannot conceive that a single piece of knowledge can be so important that it merits censorship. Fools that attempt to hide information are the greatest obstacle to a unified world, and thus must be converted or, regrettably, expunged. Telum will not abide his agents contributing to the problem.

Infernals that publicly reveal a secret that they know will be directly detrimental to them are allowed to roll their Conviction and reduce their Limit by the number of successes.

Unique Caste: Infovore
Upon learning the Tempest of Inward Focus charm, Telum created the Infovore caste. Its Caste Abilities are Investigation, Linguistics, Lore, Occult, and Socialize. The anima banner it produces is completely transparent, though distinctly visible as it warps the air, and any physical objects around it, such that the space and matter appear to be composed of billions of tiny cubes. Its caste mark is a circle filled in with white, representing Creation, and three stylized bands drawn wrapping around the central circle, representing the free distribution of information.
http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad91/bluejanus/InfovoreCaste.png
The anima power of the Infovore caste requires an expenditure of 5 motes of essence, which forms a bubble of truth with a 10 yard radius centered on the Infernal. For the duration of the scene, any creature that speaks something that they know to be a lie proceeds to shine brightly as glimmering Old Realm characters spin about their head proclaiming "I'm lying! Look at me, everyone, I'm a big fat liar!".

Flaw of Invulnerability: Imperfection of the Network
Lies, secrets, misinformation, and the unknown are as venom to the All Encompassing Matrix. The only way to truly stamp it out is with subterfuge. Telum may never activate his Perfect Defense against unexpected attacks. Even if it uses a Charm to make the attack known, it may still not activate a Perfect Defense to defend itself (though the attack is still treated as being known for all other purposes).

Charms

General Charms
First Telum Excellency (See Above)

Telum Mythos Exultant
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: -
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: First Telum Excellency

It is the nature of the Interwoven Network to share and distribute its most prized things without bias or hesitation. When it gains motes as a reward for a stunt, it may choose an ally within (Essence x 10) yards. The chosen ally gains the same number of motes.

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The following General Charms exist for Telum, but function exactly as the General Charms of other Primordials, and thus do not need a full write-up.
Second [Telum] Excellency
[Telum] Inevitability Technique
Effortless [Telum] Dominance
So Speaks [Telum]

Synthetic Nature Charms
Vital Media Consumption
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: -
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None

New information is the lifeblood of the Interwoven Network, and entertainment: its food. When the Infernal learns something they did not know before, or specifically endeavors to experience something for entertainment value and no other reason, they are considered to have consumed food and water sufficient to sustain them for a day, and they heal levels of bashing and lethal damage at twice the rate they normally would.

A second purchase extends this concept. The Infernal no longer gains sustenance from food or water at all. Indeed, now they may no longer even gain the restorative benefits of sleep or breath (nor can they do those things at all, even if they want to). Instead, in a day in which the Infernal has gained repast from information or entertainment, they regain one point of temporary willpower per hour, and take no penalty for not breathing.

Solid State Memory
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: -
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None

The idea of information lost is anathema to Telum, whose mind is an infinite catalogue of every bit of data he has ever consumed. With this charm, the Infernal's mind becomes likewise, never decaying or forgetting. He may recall any piece of information that he experiences from the moment he takes this charm with meticulously perfect clarity. Remembering someone by their exact variation of body odor, recalling the password for one's manse a thousand years after they last entered it, or comparing two flavors with a perfect lack of bias are all things possible for the Infernal now.

Internet Charms
Weaving the Web
Cost: - (1m); Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: -
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: None

Connecting everyone in Creation is the ultimate goal of the All Encompassing Matrix; a single network without boundaries. Free ideas, open forums, and limitless possibilities. By buying this charm, the Infernal becomes a living manifestation of this ideal; an information Node. By spending 1 mote, he may extend his essence into an invisible tube that connects with the mind of someone within (Essence x 10) yards, giving them a glimpse of what they're being offered. In their mind, a sort of "window" opens, displaying a formal request to join the Infernal's network, which they may accept or decline. They find that interacting with this request is completely effortless, and they have absolutely no problem dividing their attention between what they're currently doing in the physical world, and interacting with the window in their mind. If they accept, they are now a "User" in the Infernal's network.

The Infernal's Node grants all Users access to the most basic functionality: chat. A User may send telepathic messages to the Infernal, or to any other User, though in the latter case, the information must pass through the Infernal first, and so they are automatically privy to the conversation. This takes very little effort, and someone who gets used to doing so may even carry on separate conversation in their mind and in the physical world simultaneously without tripping themselves up.

It is impossible to eject someone from the network, as doing so would be wholly against Telum's ideology, although a User may pay 1 mote or 1 willpower to "shut down" the window in their mind, disconnecting them from the network until they spend another mote or willpower to reconnect themselves.

An Infernal may naturally hold up to his (Essence x 10) people in his network. The network persists over any distance, so long as the User is in the same realm of existence as the Infernal. A User in a different realm (for instance, if the Infernal is in Creation and the User is in the Wyld, the Underworld, etc) is automatically considered disconnected, and thus may not be communicated with.

The Infernal may not connect Fair Folk, Ghosts, or Demons to their network (yet, anyway). Their essence works in ways that would be detrimental to the continued health and stability of the network as a whole.

Audience Broadening Upgrade
Cost: - ; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: -
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Weaving the Web

As the Infernal's Essence matures, he may expand the kinds of creatures allowed access to his network without damaging it. By taking this charm, he enables Demons to be invited and subsequently become Users. Their essence patterns are very similar to Telum's primordial energy, so they are the easiest to incorporate. As a side-effect, the Infernal multiplies the number of people allowed in his network by 10.

A second purchase at Essence 5+ allows the ranks of the Fair Folk to join the Infernal's network. Even though they are very different from the essence of the primordials, the titans were themselves spawned from the Wyld, and so there is common ground to be had. The Infernal once again multiplies the number of people currently allowed in his network by 10.

A third purchase at Essence 7+ allows even the death-essence of Ghosts to become connected. Though it requires great pains to link such alien beings, it is the nature of the All-Encompassing Matrix to exclude no one. The Infernal once again multiplies the number of people currently allowed in his network by 10.

Solidarity Acquiescence Protocol
Cost: - ; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: -
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Weaving the Web

By taking this charm, the Infernal opens up new functionality for the Users in his network. They may attach a Friend Request to a message they send another User. If that User consents, then both participants gain an intimacy of friendship for the other User. As a reflexive action, either User may terminate the relationship, instantly ending both intimacies.

At Essence 6+, the minds of all Users grow an extra storage facility for holding all of their friends. Intimacies gained from Friend Requests do not count towards the normal maximum amount of intimacies one person can hold.

Xefas
2011-02-07, 03:39 AM
Reserved for Great Knowledge!

Xefas
2011-02-07, 03:40 AM
Primordial charm trees are really long! My character is gonna be Essence 10, for crying out loud. :smalleek:

Fortuna
2011-02-07, 03:43 AM
Hey, that's my Mythos Exultant!

But we can share.

EDIT: Also, that anima power seems ridiculous to me. Tone it down a bit, perhaps? Give some cost to negate it?

Xefas
2011-02-07, 03:51 AM
Hey, that's my Mythos Exultant!

But we can share.

Sorry, I haven't been reading other peoples' stuff. Though, I'm considering changing it so the motes have to be distributed one to a person, so it would behoove the character to move in a group of at least 3-4.

Although, that seems weaker, somehow...

Sanguine
2011-02-07, 04:21 AM
Looks good. I assume their will eventually be non-permanent Charms. I agree with Random Person, a way around the anima power would probably be a good idea.

Fortuna
2011-02-07, 04:23 AM
It is. Maybe grant two motes to a number of people equal to the motes awarded?

EDIT: Ninja'd!

Xefas
2011-02-07, 03:26 PM
Looks good. I assume their will eventually be non-permanent Charms.

Yes, I just happened to focus on some permanent charms first.

I agree with Random Person, a way around the anima power would probably be a good idea.

Well, there's always not saying anything, which perfectly defends against it for free. Compare the Ess 2 charm with no prereqs: Factual Determination Analysis. It detects lies automatically with no roll or way around it, and it gives no indicator to the person that they've been found out, unlike this anima power. On top of that, this basic intro-charm also functions on anything they read, while the anima power doesn't, and its range is as far as you're capable of hearing/reading, instead of 10 yards.

The main advantage for the anima power is that it's scene-long, although it costs more and does not automatically activate for free like most other anima powers. But still, even with that, it's balanced to the lowest end of charm power.


It is. Maybe grant two motes to a number of people equal to the motes awarded?

That's too good, though. Using that, a 1 die stunt under my mythos would be the equivalent of a 2 die stunt under your mythos. Although, I wouldn't be able to award Willpower with mine, so...I dunno. I'll think on it.

Jokasti
2011-02-07, 09:54 PM
Very Julian Assange :smallbiggrin:
I'm not the best at crunch, but "Telumaic" seems kind of stressed to me..? Maybe? How are you supposed to pronounce Telum? Like, teh-lum, or tell-um? Or something else entirely? Just my two obols, but if it's tell-um, I would go for "Telumnic".
Not that important when I think about it... :S

Primal Fury
2011-02-07, 10:09 PM
I'll say it again: You need a more unique Imperfection. This one is just too easy to get around (even going as far as to take the power away from the player).

Xefas
2011-02-07, 10:16 PM
Not that important when I think about it... :S
Nonsense! Proper nouns are the most important part of Exalted. (There is no sarcasm here)



I'm not the best at crunch, but "Telumaic" seems kind of stressed to me..? Maybe? How are you supposed to pronounce Telum? Like, teh-lum, or tell-um? Or something else entirely? Just my two obols, but if it's tell-um, I would go for "Telumnic".

It's pronounced ['tɛl.ʌm], I think, using the International Phonetic Alphabet. Which is pretty much your latter example. "Telumaic" is meant to be reminiscent of "algebraic", "paradisaic", or "voltaic".


I'll say it again: You need a more unique Imperfection. This one is just too easy to get around (even going as far as to take the power away from the player).

What? When did you say this the first time? :smallconfused:

Primal Fury
2011-02-07, 10:26 PM
What? When did you say this the first time? :smallconfused:
In golentan's thread, who has the exact same Imperfection for their Devil-Tiger.

aetherialDawn
2011-02-09, 02:24 PM
I have not, but now will have to, read this original thread on such an Infernal Titan.

EDIT: The Urge, Torment, Precipitous Fiat, and Caste all seem fine to me. The zone of truth should activate automatically, like other anima powers, and perhaps facilitate communication across languages. Mention how it applies against charm-enhanced lies - if it detects those automatically, it is probably too powerful (since in that case it becomes a perfect effect without a corresponding perfect defense.)

The imperfection is acceptable to me, compared to other imperfections. I do note that it allows absolutely no way to pay extra motes to get around it, unlike several of the other Imperfections; on the other hand, it is also much more restricted in that anything the character can manage to be aware of doesn't apply. I would compare it to the Imperfection of She Who Lives in Her (Very Long) Name, except that I absolutely hate how her perfect defense and imperfection work... So I won't.

The Excellency description seems fine. It needs to be more explicit about what it can modify and why, as the examples seem to go against the previous - the four foundations of this titan seem to be
1) Information
2) Connection
3) Progress
4) Enabling Others, very related to Connection

The example of what it can't perform - Athletics to get at a piece of information - goes against 1, so please explain why or else change it so that it's only inapplicable if there's another person who could be made to do it for you with a little help.

Perhaps, if you do want to emphasize connection, make a unique Second Excellency like that of the Ebon Dragon which allows you to enhance the actions of others, but not your own.

Charms!
-Vital Media Consumption
--This charm is just fine, but if it were not for the word 'endeavor' then I would point out that imprisoning the Infernal for long periods would make it entirely too easy to accidentally starve them to death. However, you have the word endeavor, so it's just fine.

-Solid State Memory
--Excellent. This is a simple charm with many uses, but no explicitly supernatural ones, a good Essence 2 permanent Infernal charm. Perhaps note that the 'no bias' only applies to that brought on by time or distraction - the Infernal can be be anti-chocolate biased if he pleases. Or note that that's not possible, and to truly make use of the charm they must be impartial - that would be interesting and odd, both good for an Infernal charm!

-Weaving the Web, Audience Broadening Upgrade
--This charm is good at Essence 3, but needs two changes.
The first is to specify whether or not it works with Alchemicals and Machine Spirits - it most definitely should, given the meshing themes. Perhaps Alchemicals and Machine Spirits even integrate so effectively that they only count as half-a-person for connection limits.
The second is that it must be possible to either expand the number of people who can be connected, or eject one person in favor of another. A hard limit plus the inability to connect more people is just annoying - even if the hard limit has an eventual maximum of one hundred thousand Users.

-Solidarity Acquiescence Protocol
--This charm is fine on its own, but I wouldn't want to see the horror you could enact by combining Kimbery charms with it. It needs to be a little more restricted, or leave some sort of weakness for the Infernal so that these intimacies don't see too much abuse.

I really want to see some trolling charms, except that that doesn't fit with the vibes that Telum has. The internet doesn't troll you; the internet just doesn't discriminate between trolling and non-trolling. It's all communication, and so Telum wouldn't care either way.