Its been said in the books more than once that the only way to get rid of them is to willing let go of the coin.
OK, what's I'm going for is for the exorcist to see this as a simple possession (barring a really good assessment roll when using The Sight), and to think that the exorcism worked, for a time. It should also be enough to piss off the Denarian trapped in the coin. Does that seem feasible for some sort of Rituals roll?
For this I'd just make it a spell that does mental stress, with the taken out result being "temporarily banished". This is prettymuch the same thing Dresden kept doing with Lashs shadow.
The problem, again, comes from the fact that, unless you have a way to disconnect the shadow from the coin, you aren't dealing with the shadow, you're dealing with the Fallen. The only reason Lash was even as weak as she was, was that she couldn't draw on the power of the coin, because it was locked away in a circle.
Technically, you would have to take out the Fallen, and the holder of the coin if they were resisting you. Its been said in the books more than once that the only way to get rid of them is to willing let go of the coin. The mere shadow of Lasical was only gotten rid of by her effectivly taking herself out.
Though that does not have to be true IYDG (in your Dresden game).
Fortunately, even in the canon universe they are supposed to have radically different capabilites and approaches. We could say that Lasical was especially good at leaving shadows in peoples' heads, and it isn't so hard to get rid of other Denarians.
That's a good point. I think having the exorcist be able to figure out that there's a power source somewhere else for the possession (and be able to track it down) would be in line then.
Of course in that instance the link is only broken till the exorcism is finished and there's nothing stopping the coin from just casting a new shadow as soon as you break the circle, but a smart Fallen would probably lay low for a bit and let you think you beat it.
Either the holder gives up the coin and the source of temptation, or the Shadow destroys the link. No third party can do it for you.The first 2 methods work in canon, but is there any statement in canon that say no other method will work?
No, because Lash was dead. Actually burned out of Harrys mind through her own choice. If a spell forces the shadow out, it can't break the link the fallen has to the target. That can only be done through free will. Either the holder gives up the coin and the source of temptation, or the Shadow destroys the link. No third party can do it for you.
The first 2 methods work in canon, but is there any statement in canon that say no other method will work?
We also have no evidence to believe that there is a link between coin and host beyond the shadow.
Sure we do.(click to show/hide)
And yet we are given absolutely no indication as to how that would be accomplished, let alone that it would be made possible by some residual sympathetic connection between Harry and the coin, or Harry and Lasciel.
He calls it, and it's there?
Right, and he just 'calls' Lea, or Toot.
"Here, coiny-coiny-coiny-coiny-coin! Heeeere, coiny-coiny-coiny-coiny-coin!"
There is also the issue as to whether the coin will be able to hear him through the concrete.
Since we have absolutely NO evidence to believe that a shadow can exist separate from its host, we must assume that a banished shadow IS a dead shadow.Which is why the most you can do is banish it back to the subconscious and temporarily cage it (like Harry did). This is also supported by the rules, where it says you can't just whip up a spell to solve every problem or end run around the story. Magic doesn't work like that. For major problems, the best you can do is temporarily alleviate the problem, or have the spell point you in the right direction (which in this case is convincing the tainted to willingly reject the coin).
And we're not talking about a dimestore mortal spell, here. We're talking a spell significantly more powerful than something that Harry Dresden, Wizard of the White Council of Magic, self-proclaimed as farm more adept with thaumaturgy than evocation, initially deemed impossible.And if such a spell were possible (and the rules of the game and theme of the novels heavily imply its not), then someone would have thought of it already. And Dresden would have just went to McCoy for a de-taintifying. And the church wouldn't have a problem with people people being corrupted and stealing back the coins.
Steps one through twenty of this ritual are going to be figuring out how it's accomplished.
So, even if you could make a spell to get rid of the fallen/shadow without the target rejecting it, that would be a forcible altering of the subjects mind(the shadow is built of the subjects mind, and if the subject isn't rejecting it, then its there of his own free will) and a breach of the fourth law.
To those, I would add:
4) Force the shadow of a Denarian from someone else's mind.
Richard
There are canon methods to slice out portions of a person's mind, personality, or memory (though 'slice' likely implies too clean of a result for what most practitioners capable of the basic function would be able to accomplish).
From the book there is evidence that a sufficiently powerful Psychic blast can rid a person of one of the shadows (who are separate from the coins mealy an impression of evil) therefore the only real question is aiming?
"Say yes" trumps canon.
Question: Looking through the rules, what's to stop a depressed mage from making a pocket full of sunlight? I mean, sure "I'm as happy as sunshine" might have been tag the first time Harry made that, but the RAW doesn't seem to require any specific aspect be tagged for spells.
the GM should Compel whatever aspect represents their depression to steer them to a more setting-consistent alternative.
Easier, Still a Challenge
It sounds like the community consensus is split between the following:
^ Implying that a ritual potentially reaching into the 40s in complexity isn't challenging.