[FF] Grail Works, Ltd.: Fate/Anarchy (Type-Moon/Scion crossover)

[Xamusel]

Hmm... not because I'm judging, but I was curious, RanmaBushiko... are you a believer in the Norse gods? I mean, from what you've said before, you have the actual Fenris Wolf talking to you about these things... that's what piqued my curiosity.

[RanmaBushiko]

Hmm... not because I'm judging, but I was curious, RanmaBushiko... are you a believer in the Norse gods? I mean, from what you've said before, you have the actual Fenris Wolf talking to you about these things... that's what piqued my curiosity.

Hmm. This kind of gets into the 19 years or so of astral projection, exploring, even archeology that I've done there. Not to mention even more study of Ki/Chi/Qi manipulation, and the method I've been using and refining since... December 1998. Yeesh.

Basically, according to most astral residents, including astral gods, there's two types. Ones that exist on their own for one reason or another, and ones that need worship to live and continue on.

The first are linked to some sort of concept, element, or power, that generates enough energy that they can exist without worship. The second, sacrifice the Kundalini and root chakra to effectively live off of worship, and in return, grant "miracles" of varying quality.




Years and years and years ago, I explored the astral plane for the parts that I could access, and found some sort of being that offered me a deal (she had horns, if it helps. But I have no clue what she was, she wasn't offering either, and I've never seen her again since.). A ring, if I could deal with some sort of vampire that was trying to ascend to divinity, through slaughtering everyone in a nearby city. Honestly, I don't remember how long it took for that little incident to finish, but when I was done, I was the proud owner of a ring that dropped Fenris in front of me, and a few nightmares for a few months, involving a clocktower, the floor dropping out of me, and a giant scythe the size of half the damned building being used to try and bludgeon me to death.

He looked at me, I looked at him, then I promptly offered him the ring. Because 1. I was tired as fuck. 2. He looked pissed off. And 3. I'm not going to fuck with a wolf the size of a fucking train. Or that's how he looked that day. His size tends to vary.

We kind of hit it off over me figuring out how to get him some supplementary power sources since he pretty much had nearly no worship for a rather long time, and I learned some things from him.




1. The Norse "Gods" were assholes of the highest order, especially Odin. The way he tells it, he was hunting for his mate and newborn kids in a several year drought with heavy winter storms that drove out most wildlife. Some Norse Gods showed up, he refused to tell them why he needed food, or wished to leave, and they went into a mutually unpleasant situation of "He's hiding something! They're hiding something!" which left Fenris unable to leave and feed his mate or kids.

Loki adopted him, in an attempt to befriend him, but soon after (a matter of days, if I remember right), they pulled the chains trick on him, and locked him up while his mate and newborn children starved.

2. He ate most of the pantheon for that. Unlike how Viking stories would have it, he ate all of them.

3. I can occasionally hear Odin, still alive in his gut, screaming at someone to let him out so he can kill "This bastard wolf and take back my realm!". Apparently he's been digesting in Fenris' gut ever since the Vikings were around. And with what an asshole he apparently was, from the other stories I've heard... it's a moment of "Good riddance to an asshole that crazy...".

4. He eventually returned to that den, only to find his kids missing, and his Mate having sacrificed herself to feed their kids.

5. He doesn't need worship, persay, but it helps the power drain when he actually fights, rather than just merely sits around, existing. So hunting is extremely exhausting long term, and he wants to get the most out of it if he has to do so.

6. A lot of astral beings fight to get people on the physical plane to learn about them, through stories, books, television, and even video games. It's iffy on how close it is to reality, compared to the media in question, however.

7. Loki and Thor are supposedly alive, but he's not really checked up on the two. However, Odin apparently was trying to get one to murder the other for shits and giggles, then revive them, wipe their memories of it, and watch it happen again to see who'd kill the other the next few hundred times. (There's reasons why I call him an asshole. What sort of father would do that?!)



I've done blind tests with people online who asked to learn astral projection methods from me, before. Not just introducing them to Fenris, but to other people I've met, places I've gone to. And I've reliably heard names, of people and places that exist there, without me asking, for people that can usually hear while astral projecting on a fairly regular basis. Names have popped up. Including names people should never have heard of, names that no one would have access to. Names I've never said a word, breathed a word to anyone about.

It very much is not just a "It's just you! You're biased!" thing. But it's hard to explain sometimes. Even harder to figure out how to compare it to things in real life, either seen, or heard of, to explain how crazy the astral plane can be. Some of the powers there are utterly goddamned terrifying, but quite nice. Others are sweet, and adorable, and will happily stab you in the back with a poisoned knife the moment you let your guard down.

And I've projected so long, I've stopped being able to stop doing so, in day to day life. So every moment I'm awake, or asleep? I can feel the astral plane, or if my astral body gets attacked, etc. If I focused right now, I could probably see Fenris curled up, eating a steak again if I look for him. So there's that issue, too. Especially since the method I use is different from the traditional one of a "silver cord" anchoring your astral projection to the physical body.

[Xamusel]

Hmm... that sounds like a very fascinating retelling of a big story, RB. Thanks for sharing with me, man.

...okay, with everyone here, but who's counting?

[RanmaBushiko]

Hmm... that sounds like a very fascinating retelling of a big story, RB. Thanks for sharing with me, man.

...okay, with everyone here, but who's counting?

Yeah, no worries. It's just easy to come across as "completely, utterly batshit insane", or get called names like "chuuni" for believing in this sort of thing. (It's happened on this site before.)

Even if you can reliably teach over 20 people the same method of feeling how to use Ki, and it works within 2 weeks, guaranteed, every person you teach it to, as long as they actually practice.

Even if you've had 27 people or so you've taught over the years, involving astral projection, and they've all given you the same results when they meet Fenris. (Of "HOLY SHIT, GIANT WOLF!", "Aww, big doggie! Wait, that's not a dog... huh, neat!" and several others in the similar vein.)

Even if people have sought you out for training, and your methods usually help them, and you take out hours of your day to be willing to help them without pay, just because it's the right thing to do.

Even if you can fix a family member's Reynauds disease every time it sparks up, while out exercising, just by pushing Ki into their body and circulating it to force blood flow to increase.

Sometimes it gets to me that people don't keep an open mind, or are willing to try things out before insisting that it isn't real, and can't work.

[Xamusel]

Hey, I've heard crazier things, honestly. I once heard of a person my boss knew that was demonically possessed... and proven when they salted the doorway of their house before the person tried to enter the residence. Trust me, that's what makes me wonder how much of the series Supernatural is phony, and how much is legit.

(Why, yes, I did​ hear about the salting method through Supernatural... what of it?)

[Kieran]

Hey, I've heard crazier things, honestly. I once heard of a person my boss knew that was demonically possessed... and proven when they salted the doorway of their house before the person tried to enter the residence. Trust me, that's what makes me wonder how much of the series Supernatural is phony, and how much is legit.

(Why, yes, I did​ hear about the salting method through Supernatural... what of it?)

Eh, my particular experience with that trick comes from either the movie "Hocus Pocus," or a young-adult-oriented duology involving ghosts that's published by a subdivision of Harlequin Romance, depending on how you look at it - so I'm not going to judge.

[RanmaBushiko]

Hey, I've heard crazier things, honestly. I once heard of a person my boss knew that was demonically possessed... and proven when they salted the doorway of their house before the person tried to enter the residence. Trust me, that's what makes me wonder how much of the series Supernatural is phony, and how much is legit.

(Why, yes, I did​ hear about the salting method through Supernatural... what of it?)

Yeah, I've heard of incidents like that. Seen incidents like that. Helped drive beings like that out of possessed students heads, in the past, too. Not pleasant.



I've seen a lot of shit, myself. On the crazier side (and, barring my first teacher's case, unverifiable, I might add, if sometimes funnier how crazy they could be)...

Back when I first started studying Ki, a lot of people were trying to replicate shit out of Dragonball Z. Namely the Kaio Ken, since most were martial artists, or claimed to be at least. My first teacher was the only one to make anything like that actually work, but at a hefty cost. He had a shot earlier that day, and the injury actually reopened, spraying a little fountain of blood when he tried it. However, most that tried were pretty much role playing effectiveness, or were genuinely doing harm to their body instead.

Some students that I've taken on decided they wanted to replicate stuff out of Dragonball Z, at first. Through them, I met some real crazies...

Namely, the cult of wannabe-Saiyans that I trolled, years ago. Dude made up a new language for people he wanted to insult and everything. Though I got him back by making him think fanart was actually real, and he needed to make an elaborate pendant from some fanart to show he was "true Saiyan Royalty".

Funny enough, when you're willing to spend real cash to make a brand new website, centered on that one single image from said fanart? It shows you're utterly insane. When all his little cultists RAN with it, I just had material to laugh my ass off for years afterwards.

At the same time, I've met people that claimed to be able to connect to the internet, and AIM instant messenger, through the power of their mind alone.

Then there was that one fellow who smoked weed all the time, and told me about how he'd managed to teleport to the bathroom, only to find most of his pubic hair was missing as a result. Never found the pubic hair afterwards. Last I heard of him and his brand of likely insanity, was that he'd found his father had a growing operation in the shed out back, and he was starting to nick some of his father's weed.

Oh! And that one girl who claimed to have the sword of griffindor (who'd just read harry potter books over in europe, or something, claimed to be an alien, and enjoyed bounty hunting, as well as being capable of all sorts of crazy things). She was funny, if nothing else. Likely a troll, but still an odd one I may as well write in.

Though that one that claimed to be a vampire was just insane. Pity he ruined someone's life with that shit.


On the other hand, for the scary but true shit?

Shadow beings are real. I've killed one, and that was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. Hurt the damned thing, didn't kill it the first round, then had issues with Ki manipulation for several years afterwards. Then 9 years later, while meditating with a friend and practicing sending Ki constructs long range, he tried cycling my chakras from range, it felt like something was clawing it's way up my spine, and we got to kill the thing together after getting it out of my chakra network. Turned out it was trying to possess me and heal for years. Looked like a giant swirling cloud of darkness bleeding out of a shadow being, too. I've had people report of dealing with more since then.

One of my few students I trained face to face, rather than online, tended to come over a lot while bored, and went out with walks with me while on the way back to his house, back when I lived with my parents.

Seeing shadowy figures walking along the nearby elementary school's playfield, we went to check it out. Then we saw it staring at us from across the field, near the woods. When we walked to see what the hell was going on, it disappeared. Then when we turned around, it was on the other side of the field, watching us still.

The nearby drainage lake turned field had odd shit involving it, more often than not. I've got something like 3 crazy experiences I usually don't give out, involved with that place. Things like all the energy in the area being sucked to there, for no reason? Shadow beings galore? Going out there late at night with a friend to meditate, only to see giant fucking 4 legged spiders on the horizon, made of shadows, and growing more solid? That place still freaks me out to this day.

A lot of Ki users that I met online towards the beginning of studying it, reported seeing shadow beings before suddenly losing their abilities, after managing something physical. Or knowing someone else that had something physical happen, mention a shadow being sighting, then the person they knew suddenly have their mindset change drastically. That one fell out of contact soon afterwards, and never logged on again, leaving me wondering what the hell was going on.

I've had students try to make deals with demons, and things tended to go... bad for them once they started trying shit like that. On the other hand, there's been a couple of genuinely nice beings that claim to be demons, on the astral plane. So it's a little hit and miss on that front.

There's been multiple attempts to fuck with my head, where I could feel pressure in my skull from someone trying to enter my skull and possess me, where I pushed them and their shit out. Other people that had similar issues with the same source, complained of similar migraines and having to push in a similar way.

Whatever the hell I saw as a shadow after starting to study Ki, while in that church (that I later learned was a cult) I used to go to? Damned thing scared me, was made of shadows, and was definitely looking at me the entire time I saw it. Having to pull out some sort of horn made of Ki, or some other energy, later, from where I felt a sharp migraine, took hours after I got home from there, too. Thankfully, I never saw it again, but...

Dying on the astral plane sucks, and it gave me a 3 hour migraine from that time where I got my astral body eaten. I did NOT test well that day, and was curled up shaking in pain, in a bathroom for quite a damned while.

My last ex had issues where she'd get drunk, and then start hearing voices, while things tried to fuck with her head, push thoughts into her mind, etc. She genuinely had several experiences that utterly terrify me to this day, that I still have no explanation for. Including random memory loss, while barely drunk, and hearing people trying to coax her into committing suicide. (Seriously, the amount of shit I dealt with to help her, could fill an entire book.)

The one before that tried to tap into the element of Chaos, and it slowly drove her batshit insane, culminating in her losing the ability to use Ki, etc. alltogether.

I've had one person with the unique situation of genuinely trying to read posts involving Ki manipulation, that I've written on forums, only for their laptop to freeze and shut down randomly while reading. That one's a bucket of worms that I normally don't talk about, but have helped them quite a bit with their situation. But they've seen me astral project to the place they were living in, and saw my projection as a humanoid shape, without me saying I was doing it. Could also feel said projection, if barely.

I've seen one person wake up with another person in their head, from another timeline, who claimed their timeline was destroyed somehow... They knew my real name and my online username at the time, and admitted they'd been rooming with me in an apartment, before whatever the hell happened, happened. That was a bit of a doozy. Still no full answer for what the hell happened, either, involving them.



As for more iffy stuff?

There were quite a few attempts to try and crack a hole from the physical to the astral plane. One involving a giant astral cannon, which resulted in a nickel lighting on fire and melting, followed by the cannon never working again. A much later attempt resulted in a hole on the astral plane to toss shit through, which resulted in half a glove show up torn and ripped, as well as the clattering sound of a sword landing somewhere in the walls. And pictures on their webcam, as well as genuine freaking the fuck out.

I never managed to get to see the nickel, but the guy was a good friend of mine of several years, who I thought wouldn't lie to me about that sort of thing. As for the glove, etc.? Never found the sword before they moved (and more's the pity...) but I saw the glove, and that thing's picture gave me the heebie jeebies for some reason.





Edit: I will note that a lot of this stuff that I've put under real, I've verified as being "sounding crazy, but likely true" for good reasons. Especially that last one. The person in question knew me online, hadn't spoken to me in several months, and woke up with my real name in their head. Even though they didn't know me face to face, and I took (and still DO take) great pains to keep my online identity from being related to my real life one.

Going to sleep one day, then waking up another knowing who the fuck I am, and personal information about my life that they simply shouldn't have known about? There's iffy, and then there's "HOW THE FUCK DID THEY KNOW?!" realms of paranoia inducing terror, while staring at your computer monitor in shock and no little horror.

I still have no outright answer to their stuff, unless they were telling the full, unvarnished truth, for that last one involving another timeline. I still have no clue what happened, either, nor does most of the community I've talked with about it. No answers, and I've lost track with a lot of people since then.

[Kieran]

Sighișoara, Romania
July 1, 2004








The last etchings made, Frid made a cut, and bleeding into his empty summoning circle, beginning to chant as he did so . . .

Ironically, Frid had a catalyst; he’d picked it up during a layover on his journey from the Orkneys. His pre-awakening reasoning, apparently, had been that it might be useful to the Yggdmillennia, given the scarcity of such things, after the wide-scale distribution of the Heaven’s Feel ritual; and if not, it would be an interesting, if macabre, souvenir. Post-awakening, he’d still intended to hand it over—even if the Servant it would almost certainly summon was no better than Jack the Ripper, the newcomer was (probably) more reliable . . .

And then Fiore had made her request before he could even mention it, and rendered the catalyst effectively useless. For one thing, the “Assassin of Red” slot was probably already filled (unless Zelretch had intervened to take out the unholy love-child of EMIYA and Kotomine Kirei), and for another, that one wasn’t at all compatible with him.

Some of the other versions, maybe—but I’m not sure any of them would be strong enough to survive this . . .

Unfortunately, after thinking about it, he ultimately decided he didn’t have a choice. Relying on the compatibility system was a gamble; maybe less so with an untainted Grail, but given the weirdness inherent in its having a defence system summoning fourteen Servants, still not an inconsiderable one. Even more evidence of weirdness was the fact that the defence system’s existence was apparently was unknown to the Einzberns—especially given that they, specifically, had built the thing—unless they’d planned, for some reason, to fight a Tohsaka-Matou union as one faction in the next War . . .

And all that was leaving aside his own personal “idiosyncrasies;” even ignoring his personality, what sort of Servant was compatible with a Master who intended to betray his comrades in spirit, if not in fact, from the beginning? Based on just his present experience, there was every possibility he’d end up with Mysterious Heroine X Alter—and that would just cause all kinds of headaches even before taking Mordred’s likely presence into account.

No, as much as Frid hated to admit it, it was better to minimise the variables involved; which meant relying on a catalyst if possible, and therefore Elizabeth Báthory in one form or another. Fortunately, he didn’t think her personality issues were too difficult to handle; yes, she was spoiled and egotistical, but that was hardly anything new for him to deal with—and more importantly, she wanted to change, however well-buried the desire was.

The main issue, he thought, would be how her combat capability stacked up against the absolute monsters in this weird-ass Grail War; but with any luck, she might get a parameter boost by being summoned here, which would certainly help. After all, she was related (albeit distantly) to Vlad III, who had managed the same—and Transylvania had historically been part of the Kingdom of Hungary, which she’d been a noble of.

(A tenuous link, perhaps, but at this point, he’d grasp at any straws available.)

Regardless of the results, however, Frid sincerely hoped she—and he, honestly—were up to the challenge . . .








“. . . From the binding circle,” he finished in a thundering tone, “thou, Guardian of the Scales!”

Blazing light filled his vision, but his Mystic Eyes “saw” through the blindness, which revealed—

“Trick or treat!” the red-haired witch called chirpily. “There’s no need for introductions, right? Demoness Elizabeth Báthory—in response to your passionate support, I’ve been summoned in my best dress!”

Twirling the full-scale trident in her left hand with all the ease of a drumstick, she tilted the oversized brim of her conical witch’s hat back with the other, regarding him with a cheery smile that had the effect of showing off her sharpened incisors.

“It is pretty,” Frid admitted. “. . . Though I must admit, I wasn’t expecting such largesse right off the bat . . .?”

While he’d never taken a serious look at Fate/EXTRA CCC, what he’d seen of Elizabeth’s behaviour in Fate/Extella and Fate/Grand Order indicated that she wasn’t incapable of being kind or generous. After all, if she was wholeheartedly evil, there would be no “Elizabeth Báthory” identity for her as a Heroic Spirit; only Carmilla. The problem lay in her lack of ability to realise when such was called for, and her almost total inability to judge when the opposite was not. And Frid wasn’t so thoroughly besotted with her as to be deluded into thinking that reaching that small, malformed heart of hers was a Herculean Labour in itself.

So, why . . .?

If anything, the Caster Servant’s smile widened, her blue eyes sparkling with mischievous delight.

“I claimed a Holy Grail, once,” she responded, “I don’t quite remember how . . . But that’s not important. It means I don’t really care about doing it again; encore performances are one thing, but you’ll go stale just repeating yourself . . . The important part is that in doing so, I became Halloween itself—or something like that.” She shrugged. “I never really bothered with all the details.

“Still, it means that I could feel it when you—a true lover of Halloween—called out . . .” She flashed her fangs again as her smile and tone turned coquettish. “And what sort of idol disappoints a fan?”

“None worthy of the title,” he demurred, and her entire expression lit up.

“Exactly!” She made a hum of pleasure. “I think that you and I are going to get along famously . . .”

As for Frid himself, the thoughts running through his mind amounted to, Her reasoning makes perfectly logical sense—more or less—and yet, I still don’t believe it. My luck is bizarre at times, but this . . .?

Seriously, which is she meant to be—trick, or treat. . .?










Writer's Notes: As a tide-over, as my muse continues to wrestle with ideas and writer's block to various degrees . . . Of course, given a certain other alternate summoning, the temptation now exists to do one for "Saber of Crimson" . . .

[Kieran]

True Name: Unrevealed
Aliases: Kieran Holt, Kurai, Godafrid Úa Súilleabháin
Caste: No Moon (Lunar Exalt)
Spirit Shape: Bear
Tell: Bear’s ears


Attributes (/ indicates beastman form stats, * indicates Favoured Attribute)


Physical Social Mental

Strength 4/5 Charisma 2 *Perception 5
Dexterity 5/6 Manipulation 4 *Intelligence 3
*Stamina 5/6 Appearance 3 *Wits 3





Abilities (* indicates Favoured Attribute): Athletics 1, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 1, Dodge 3, Integrity 2, Investigation 2, Linguistics 3 (Elven, French, Japanese), *Lore 3, Martial Arts 1, Medicine 1, Melee 1, Occult 3, Resistance 2, Ride 1, Sail 1, *Survival 2





Backgrounds


Allies (Grail Works) 2

Artefact (Aestus Estus) 2

Artefact (Soulsteel Whip) 1

Heart's Blood 3



Charms


All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight, Bruise-Relief Method, Eye of the Cat, First Dexterity Excellency, First Intelligence Excellency, First Perception Excellency, First Stamina Excellency, First Strength Excellency, First Wits Excellency, God-Cutting Blow, Halting the Scarlet Flow, Hide of the Cunning Hunter, Instinctive Essence Prediction, Northern Mastery Technique, Ox-Body Fortification (x 5), Relentless Lunar Fury, Wasp Sting Blur


Knacks


Deadly Beastman Transformation, Flickering Star Infusion, Honing the Stolen Form, Intimate Training Recollection, Prey’s Skin Disguise



Virtues


Compassion: 3 Conviction: 2 Temperance: 3 Valor: 1

Virtue Flaw: The Curse of the Humble Sloth


Willpower: 6


Essence: 4

Personal Essence Pool: 16

Peripheral Essence Pool: 40



Defense (/ indicates beastman form stats)

Dodge DV: 6/7
Parry (armed) DV: 5/6
Parry (unarmed) DV: 5/6


Join Battle: 6 (Wits + Awareness)



Health


0 -1 -1 -2 -2 (x20) -4 Incapacitated Dying (x11)


[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]



Soak


Bashing: 5/6
Lethal: 3/3
Aggravated: 0


Armor

5/5 when in Beastman form (Fur, Hide)



Movement

Move: 5/6 yards per tick
Jump: 5/8 yards









Writer's Notes: As chapter work is slow (but still ongoing, at least), here's something a bit different to share; suddenly, I'm glad I kept it for a rainy day.

As you might be able to guess, Frid's Charms focus on allowing him to detect magic, combat spirits, shapeshift really convincingly, and generally endure in combat. One of them, Northern Directional Mastery, actually makes him immune to the cold Erik was putting out earlier - but seeming unaffected would've given the game away, so . . .

You might also ask, "why a bear?" There are several reasons:

First, they are sacred to the Moon (Artemis being the most well-known, but hardly only means of linking them); also to death and rebirth (certain myths had mothers breathing life into their "dead" newborn cubs by licking them), and generally renowned as sources of healing as much as strength and war. As an additional note of amusement, they're also linked to the origin of the name "Arthur" - which is ultimately derived from a Celtic goddess, according to some sources (and the word "berserker," so there's a neat thematic link to our favourite Pendragon in general, and Mysterious Heroine X Alter in particular, there).

On a more systematic level, werebears are one of the few lycanthrope breeds extant in all editions of Dungeons and Dragons (and the only largely "good"-aligned one, as well) and are generally present in several other games, too - so that "easily adaptable" aspect I was aiming for in the character is checked off, this way.

Even aside from all that, however, it sort of fits his self-image; particularly as Frid's surrounded by Japanese and/or younger people frequently and especially that of humans when compared to elves (who are, let's not forget, the entities behind this): oversized, clumsy, easily prone to bursts of anger and difficult to deal with in general.

[Arbitrarity]

Not to mention that choice of Virtue Flaw as far as self-image goes, oof. Fits well with a bear as well.

I haven't played Exalted before, but that seems like a LOT of levels of Ox-Body. Essence 4 seems like a good level to represent being somewhat experienced, considering his origins. I also hear you get a lot of good stuff around then. His physical attributes seem really strong for not being favoured, but it would make sense that he'd favor mental attributes to raise, while starting with strong physical attributes. His abilities are similarly quite focused on defensive and utility abilities, with very little direct combat bonuses. Given his massive physical attributes though, that probably balances out.

Interesting that you have most of the line of human form acquisition, which definitely fits what he was doing, but does this imply he killed the original Godafrid? I suppose it can be assumed that it more represents how he "took the place" of the original Godafrid, I somehow doubt he'd enjoy using that the "normal" way unless he has to. Prey's Skin Disguise has some interesting description of the rules, and with his Compassion (which fits his character) it's pretty punishing.

[Kieran]

Not to mention that choice of Virtue Flaw as far as self-image goes, oof. Fits well with a bear as well.

And me, yes.

I haven't played Exalted before, but that seems like a LOT of levels of Ox-Body.

Me, either, to be quite truthful (though Scion and other White Wolf games, yes, obviously); and yes - that is the maximum he's allowed (at least, until he hits Essence 6+, and can start raising his maximum Attributes above 5 - but that's over a century away, at minimum).

Essence 4 seems like a good level to represent being somewhat experienced, considering his origins. I also hear you get a lot of good stuff around then.

*Nods* This was done with a carefully-calculated amount of experience points, to represent that. So carefully . . .

His physical attributes seem really strong for not being favoured, but it would make sense that he'd favor mental attributes to raise, while starting with strong physical attributes. His abilities are similarly quite focused on defensive and utility abilities, with very little direct combat bonuses. Given his massive physical attributes though, that probably balances out.

That is the general idea, yes.

Interesting that you have most of the line of human form acquisition, which definitely fits what he was doing, but does this imply he killed the original Godafrid? I suppose it can be assumed that it more represents how he "took the place" of the original Godafrid, I somehow doubt he'd enjoy using that the "normal" way unless he has to. Prey's Skin Disguise has some interesting description of the rules, and with his Compassion (which fits his character) it's pretty punishing.

Yeah - there's good reason I eventually decided against using a Lunar, and their means of increasing their "library" of shapes is almost the entirety of it. I really don't like it . . .

As to how it was done - it's a bit of a debate in my head, right now. There's a way I could explain it that I'm finding appealing, even if it's really complicated (and would bring his power level down, considerably, in the process), and might cause issues further down the line. Whether or not I'll go for it, I'm not sure . . . But yes, one way or another, there's more to the story than you've been shown thus far.

[Arbitrarity]

Well, you have all the prerequisites for Compassionate Mirror Nature, so you could say it was that (and retcon it in somehow), though that means you don't get to use Flickering Star Infusion (and have the problem of the original person still existing). Or get more wits and use Courtesan's Possession

[Kieran]

Unfortunately, none of the materials I have mentions either of those.

However, I did recently pick up The White and Black Treatises on Sorcery, and I note a spell that would, more or less, accomplish the same effect - minus the "Flickering Star Infusion" aspect, anyway - and for a lot longer and cheaper, Essence-wise, than using innate shapeshifting . . .

(Also, made a minor edit to Frid's Backgrounds, as the Artefacts are more "in-story" additions than something that ought to have been bought at "character creation.")

[Arbitrarity]

Apparently both are from "Dreams of the First Age". Simply, Compassionate Mirror Nature lets you take form by hunting then knocking them out, but not killing them. Courtesan's Possession... is the same thing, but you do something other than knocking them out. Both don't benefit from Flickering Star Infusion until the target dies, and also don't trigger Compassion rolls.

[Kieran]

Apparently both are from "Dreams of the First Age". Simply, Compassionate Mirror Nature lets you take form by hunting then knocking them out, but not killing them. Courtesan's Possession... is the same thing, but you do something other than knocking them out. Both don't benefit from Flickering Star Infusion until the target dies, and also don't trigger Compassion rolls.

Ah . . . That certainly explains why I never came across them - you know, aside from not actually looking too hard.

Unfortunately, while knocking out the actual Frid might be simple enough, containing him could prove vastly more difficult (if only because, with Fairy Eye, breaking locks, seals and things of that type are what he does); therefore, the explanation is unlikely to be one of those. Not impossible, but even so . . . Still, thanks for the suggestion; it's something new learned, if nothing else.

[Xamusel]

...come to think of it, wasn't Frid himself originally the Homunculus that was spared by Siegfried?

[Kieran]

It was implied that the homunculus is the source of the "native elements" used by the reincarnation spell to construct his new body, yes; presumably, to let him pass as a magus, or at least as something that neither Gaia nor Alaya would immediately attempt to eliminate as a foreign invader.

How he managed to acquire an actual identity, on the other hand (fraudulent or otherwise), is a bit more murky - thus far, the consensus is a bit of Zelretch's doing, and as much or more of the Seldarine's (when you have a gods of time and magic on your side, you can meddle a lot), but the actual specifics . . .

. . . It is, admittedly, complicated - which is at least part of why I'm hesitant to make it more so than absolutely necessary. I suppose we'll see.

[Xamusel]

Okay, I can understand that, Kieran. Thanks for your input.

[Arbitrarity]

His acquired identity is that of the originally unnamed freelance mage who acquired the Blueprints of Frankenstein for Fiore/Caules. The exact point at which the timeline diverges is very unclear though, because Godafrid has a number of things in his history that are characteristic of not-originally-Godafrid (henceforth referred to as Kurai)'s identity that aren't native to the normal unnamed magus. My original assumption was that this was one of those multiverse transcription things that happens without paradigm shields, so the divergence point was basically "since Godafrid was born", but since the revelation of Kurai being a Lunar who's taking Godafrid's place, that is heavily called into question.

A very limiting option might be to say that Kurai alters a timeline when he enters without paradigm shields to create an appropriate identity, and replaces an appropriate figure, but that makes it very difficult to insert him into any situation without weird side effects. We can probably assume that this is a one-time thing caused by Zelretch and/or the Seldarine to make him blend in more easily, so original-Godafrid acted a lot like Kurai would in his place, then the replacement step was relatively seamless. Kurai not having memories specifically of how he became Godafrid is the gap, since it's shown that he's been hiding memories from himself, making his initial narration unreliable. There could have been some period of time where Kurai was incarnated (say, via Reincarnation with Sieg's body) before he replaced Godafrid, as is implied by Prey’s Skin Disguise's rules for form acquisition, or it might just have been something he was incarnated with (since he has three dots in Heart's Blood from background), in which case we may have one extra Godafrid to account for.

Another possibility is simply that he's reincarnated from the remains of the original Godafrid, an act which he had nothing to do with. This could be an alternative explanation for how he would insert himself to have a native disguise, just take the place of someone recently-dead, though it's not well-supported by his Exalted abilities, unless the Seldarine are giving him that, or it's related to his connection with Hel.

[Kieran]

Okay, I can understand that, Kieran. Thanks for your input.

Apologies for the bare-bones answer - I was on my way to bed when I caught the question. Hopefully, my responses to the below will be more coherent/informative, and resolve any further issues you've got.

His acquired identity is that of the originally unnamed freelance mage who acquired the Blueprints of Frankenstein for Fiore/Caules.

Yes.

The exact point at which the timeline diverges is very unclear though, because Godafrid has a number of things in his history that are characteristic of not-originally-Godafrid (henceforth referred to as Kurai)'s identity that aren't native to the normal unnamed magus.

Also unassailably true.

My original assumption was that this was one of those multiverse transcription things that happens without paradigm shields, so the divergence point was basically "since Godafrid was born", but since the revelation of Kurai being a Lunar who's taking Godafrid's place, that is heavily called into question.

There's also the point that, as described to date, such a transcription wouldn't have left him with Kurai's memories and identity without Zelretch or a similar being's intervention; Godafrid might have acquired Kurai's knowledge, in such a case, but it would be Godafrid who would be the existing/dominant identity. In which case, none of these issues would be happening . . .

A very limiting option might be to say that Kurai alters a timeline when he enters without paradigm shields to create an appropriate identity, and replaces an appropriate figure, but that makes it very difficult to insert him into any situation without weird side effects.

Which might be amusing on its own, depending on the nature of said side-effects - and we can explain it by defaulting to "Trinity," and making Kurai a Stray Servant of the Foreigner class (which is, in a sense, true) - but that kind of thing is ripe for abuse, so it's not ideal.

We can probably assume that this is a one-time thing caused by Zelretch and/or the Seldarine to make him blend in more easily, so original-Godafrid acted a lot like Kurai would in his place, then the replacement step was relatively seamless.

Which is the most likely explanation, yes.

Kurai not having memories specifically of how he became Godafrid is the gap, since it's shown that he's been hiding memories from himself, making his initial narration unreliable. There could have been some period of time where Kurai was incarnated (say, via Reincarnation with Sieg's body) before he replaced Godafrid, as is implied by Prey’s Skin Disguise's rules for form acquisition, or it might just have been something he was incarnated with (since he has three dots in Heart's Blood from background), in which case we may have one extra Godafrid to account for.

Add in meta-details I'm aware of - such as that aforementioned spell - and things become even more complicated . . . Though I admit, having a second (real) Godafrid around is tempting; I'm just not sure what to do with him while ours is running around. If this had been pre-planned, on my part, I'd have done much as I'm doing with Laeticia: he was injured, and Kurai's filling in until the issue's dealt with by the Works - but as it stands . . .

Another possibility is simply that he's reincarnated from the remains of the original Godafrid, an act which he had nothing to do with.

Certainly possible; the homunculus, in that case, could've simply been raw materials to fill in the "missing pieces," as it were.

This could be an alternative explanation for how he would insert himself to have a native disguise, just take the place of someone recently-dead, though it's not well-supported by his Exalted abilities, unless the Seldarine are giving him that, or it's related to his connection with Hel.

Yeah - in which case, it's a one-time thing.

. . . On the other hand, there could be issues derived from the fact that his isn't a "true" Exaltation, but a copy made by entirely different gods; or some subtle influence of the touch of Ravenloft's Dark Powers . . . Really, there's any number of reasons that things could be different/wrong, compared to what we think - the trick is deciding what (if any) they are, what effects they have, and how to explain it in-story so that it makes sense (which is the difference between fiction and reality, as they say).