Iconic and Siphon Update

We’re making some adjustments to Siphoning to normalize the mechanic. This has necessitated changes to Iconic systems, so we’re reworking those to feel more rewarding.

Siphoning

Previously, Siphon would take a random card woven in your tapestry. We designed this with the expectation that players with more value would be hit harder, and that downward pressure would be an incentive for older characters to share patterns. In practice, it just hits too hard anytime we throw it, it makes our mod rewards and failure penalties very swingy and stales player growth. We largely haven’t been using the mechanic for a while.

Now, Siphon will be a numerical call, for example: Siphon 10. Weak monsters will still be unable to siphon, but the numerical call will often scale with the strength of the monster. At the end of the mod, you will have to pay off the amount of Siphon that you have been affected by. You can pay this using held potentia, essence, or patterns (they don’t have to be woven). Bondmates can help pay this off if they are nearby. If you give up a pattern more expensive than the siphon value, you will get a refund of the difference. This change will only affect Monsters performing siphons, human siphoning is the same.

The Scapegoat card will be updated to have an inflated value when used to pay off a Siphon, but you won’t get a refund for any excess based on this inflated value. You still get a refund if you use Scapegoat to pay off less than it’s base value.

Iconic Updates

Previously, Iconic status would allow you to mitigate the random effects of siphoning and preserve cards that are important to you. Because you now choose what you lose, we needed a new incentive.

Firstly, we’re restructuring how iconic rating works. You will receive a rating for your costume based on the costume’s theme. Rating must be assigned by a staffer during checkin. You can have more than one theme, but only a maximum of 3 total “points” to distribute across any themes you qualify for. As for the themes - you can be themed after any of our creature types, any essence type, or any of our major factions.

So long as you have an Iconic rating of one or more, you will have the option to Mutate a pattern during checkin. We will pull one pattern for each of your ratings, and one bonus pattern. These will be presented face down, with only the costs given to the mutating player. You may purchase one of the available patterns using raw potentia. The pattern can be woven immediately without a weaver - your character creates the pattern by condensing potentia. This is also how monsters generate wild patterns, and we’re glad to marry the flavor with the mechanics. Some wild patterns will require you to have an Iconic Rating to use.

Also - Chanter Updates

We feel Chanter is a bit slow, and hasn’t accomplished the goal of blending magic with swordplay. The update interacts with Brutal Stacks, so you can cast faster if you’re landing hits.

Your Chanter Channel requires three phrases with a minimum of eight syllables each. These phrases should be thematically related, but don’t need to rhyme. To cast a spell, you must speak the three phrases, but you can spend up to two Brutal stacks to reduce the phrases needed.

We’re also adding an additional spell selection to Chanter and Couplet casting to compensate for the changes to the spell list.