Random Basic Questions about the rules.

Yeah i figured I should maybe start one of these, at least for myself. I occasionally ask usefull questions that other people may like having the answer to.

Maybe its a good idea, maybe not. But it might save time/room, rather then making a new topic for each question.

Edit::Probably should have said rules/setting. but meh...

I concur with Dave on the first point. That sounds pretty reasonable.

What can someone 'see'
with true voice at meek, or at moderate, or at pure. and what is the
range(distance at which an aura can be determined) of those three?
Mostly Im just wondering how much someone with meek/moderate/pure true
voice can tell about a celestial being. At meek i believe it was said
you can distinguish horde or host or fallen, but beyond that you cant
tell much of anything else. Figured i would double check.

From the rulebook: "Meek: At this rank, the character may automatically determine the type (Celestial, Preternatural or naught) and approximate number of creatures (few: 1-5 or many: 6+) in their immediate area (approximately one block).
"Moderate: A Fallen can now distinguish the true being type. Celestial: Fallen, angel or devils, demons. Preternatural: Nephilim, Potent Humans, Affections. The Embodiment of an angel, devil or Fallen can also be distinguished. They can also sense what Embodiment created an Affection.
They can sense more specific numbers, including single (1), few (2-5), many (6-10) and lots (10+) (neighbourhood - about four to six blocks).
"Pure: They can now sense the mixture of Embodiments within a being. They can sense the connection between an Affection and the Fallen who created the mark. They can sense very specific numbers now (the civitas)."

You cannot look for specific people, but you can look for specific Embodiments or Critter Types.

I have to point out my favourite part of the description of True Voice:
"The Symphony is a wise and cunning entity. It may not send a Fallen to where they want to go, but it might lead them to where they need to go at that time." Very Lewis Carroll/Neil Gaiman. Lurve it.

Do memories of past lives
of any given fallen continue to come back to them as time progresses?
or is the initial 'surge' basically what they end up with in terms of
memories? ex: will a fallen 3 months reckoned, and 300 years reckoned
still have the same number and potency of memories from their past
lives? or will they have more? or less?

A tough one to answer "for everyone". In some cases, yes, you begin to remember your past lives. In some cases, you might never remember specific details, but you will have the knowledge that you have lived before, many, many incarnations. You might never know that your name was Romulus Aggretor, and that you were a great orator in one of Rome's city states. You might not remember that you were Remi Marchildon, a piss boy during the French Revolution. Or, on the other hand, you might begin to have memories of a time when you lived among the druids and performed rituals with them, or that you were the wife of a Norse explorer, waiting at the edge of the sea every day for him to return.

Basically, it's up to you. There's certainly no mechanic set forward to govern how and when or even if your memories of your past lives return to you. The book does say that after you Reckon, you may begin to remember your past lives. But because it's all about story, it's mostly left up to you.

With one rider: You don't get to be a famous person. I'm sorry, but if the one thing that's going to really make the game for you is that you were Genghis Khan (or, for that matter, Ricardo Montalbahn, rest his soul), your Storyguide will probably tell you "sorry, that one's taken". You might have been an *important* person (although I find the most interesting stories the ones where you are 'just another guy'...I really loved Rada's background where he was, more or less, "just another prison bitch".), but I strongly, STRONGLY encourage you not to pitch Napoleon, Superman, Yamauchi Kazutoyo, or JFK.

When you take your last Mortal Wound (whether you're a Fortitude or not), at the end of the round in which you take it, you fall helpless to the ground. It is at this point that someone can attempt to cause you either Hollow Death or Final Death.

If your opponent(s) desist from causing further damage (ie. nobody kicks you in the nards), you will begin to heal at the regular rate.

You can only take one Mortal Wound per round of combat, and when you lose your last Mortal Wound, you are considered defeated. You don't immediately die, but you are at the mercy of your attacker(s). This means that even if your attacker uses extra Maneuvers to increase the damage they would cause with their attack, you will only ever take one Mortal Wound per round (and no, the wounds don't 'carry over' into the next round). So yes, someone needs to 'coup de grace' in order for you to be killed.

On a slightly less morbid note, is there a game mechanical effect for someone taking their first mortal wound if they have more than one mortal wound box.

After winning a warfare challenge a player may forgo doing damage and instead spend a cinematic point to cause a potent hindrance. In order to do this they must also describe what their character is doing to cause said hindrance. Garppling would fall into this category.

This does not completely restrain a character but it is the only rules I can find in the big red booklet that simulates non wound oriented combat.

Another option that technically isn't in the book but I think would makes sense is just using the wound system and describe the actions differently. Remember that Mortally wounded does not mean killed. According to the big red booklet, the player inflicting the Mortal wound can decide if they have killed their opponent or not. Also once a character has taken the final Mortal wound, no more damage can be done to them that round. This means there is no "accidental" killing in KC. So descriptively, a player could easily describe the "wounds" that are done as getting a better and better grip on the opponent until finally when the mortal "wound" is inflicted the opponent has been restrained.

I think in the case of falling Pure Endure does not get a chance to avoid the mortal wound since there is no one to make a contested Soul challenge with. Although perhaps if you had been pushed the ST could conceiveably allow a test against the person who pushed you.

Also, check out the professions for grappling, they are specifically cited as to when and how grappling in a dramatic scene works.

Where does the book describe how proffessions affect grappling? I couldn't find it.

Some Dramatic manouvres.

Dan, all that information is in the book. It's in the "Secular Actions" section under "Predomination". I'd rather you refer to that rather than post it here, because there is rather a lot that happens, in certain situations.

I think the wording for Strong Warfare indicates a strong inclination to the fact that Warfare cannot go above 9. Strong Warfare is an Inspiration to the physical dynamic stat while in combat. This would seem to indicate that Warfare is just a blanket term to indicate whatever it is you are using as your base dynamic stat in combat challenges. Since stats cannot be raised above 9 it would seem that Strong Warfare would have no effect on a person with a 9 dynamic stat unless they were to come under a Hinderance of some sort.

Indeed. You cannot raise a Prowess above 9, through Inspirations, etc., in general. "Warfare" is not a separate Prowess; it's simply the term you use to describe your dynamic body fightery ability, including all your 'bonuses' (your Herculean Preeminence plus your Whatever Preminence, etc.). But these things (Preemiences, etc.) don't actually *raise* your Prowess; they just give you a bonus, and some of them only give you a bonus (Inspiration) for a limited time (some say 'the first round of combat' or 'the first challenge', etc.). Please refer to the BRB for complete descriptions of how (and when, and how often, etc.) the Preeminences work.
When someone uses Devotion, they're not necessarily 'raising their Warfare', although that is one way to look at it - when you spend a point of Devotion, you *temporarily* increase a specific *Prowess*. So rather than having 3 Dynamic Body, you'd have 4 (for that combat round or challenge or whatever). Naturally, that raises your "Warfare" (which is determined by your Dynamic Prowess and any applicable Preeminences, etc.). But technically, it's not raising your "Warfare".
Clear as mud?