Keychain of Creation IV: The Lore Thing

[Jokasti]

What are these eggs you guys keep referring to? And what are the db's exprression of the great curse?

Lost eggs? A lost egg is a Terrestrial Exalted who is technically a Dynast or Outcaste but not claimed by any House (usually Houses try to get a lot of the same element their House is associated with to keep the purity of the line). A house will then "adopt" them, but it will be like they were always part of the family.

[Thanqol]

There's a double entendre here regarding Solar Bonds somewhere, but I'm too sleepy to parse it properly.

Solars do horrible things to horrible things. Watching was a horrible decision.

[golentan]

Solars do horrible things to horrible things. Watching was a horrible decision.

Poor, poor Lillith.

[Tavar]

And what are the db's expression of the great curse?

The Dragonblooded are only a step up from mortals, and thus beneath the dying Primordial's notice.

[golentan]

The Dragonblooded are only a step up from mortals, and thus beneath the dying Primordial's notice.

No, they just have a weak curse. They tend towards excessive displays of their elemental nature in keeping with their virtues, but they don't have as concrete a mechanic to represent it.

[Kyeudo]

The Dragon-Blooded exhibit the Great Curse only rarely. They gain Limit only from resisting unnatural mental influence and suppressing their greatest Virtue, so they don't get Limit very quickly unless they suck at social combat and aren't very proactive, i.e. are not player characters.

[The_Snark]

So is it the great curse or laziness that lead to the Sidereals not being curious why everything went to pot?

Not really. They probably think it's a natural result of giving Ultimate Cosmic Power to three hundred flawed human beings and then removing all accountability. Solars are Exalted for having the will to stand up and try to change the world—not for their impeccable morals. They were designed to be weapons, not peacetime rulers.

And even if they did begin with the best of intentions—a lot of them probably did—it's easy for that kind of autocracy to go wrong. After three thousand years of ruling as a god-king, you probably don't even remember what being mortal is like. Even at their best, the Solars of the First Age were basically benevolent tyrants.

It doesn't really surprise me that this went horribly wrong. The Great Curse made it faster, more widespread, and more certain by preying on the Solars' flaws, but it's not like the system was infallible in the first place.

[horngeek]

Indeed. The best system is probably how the Alchemical Exalted are treated- respected heroes, but they defer to mortal rulers.

That said, that's only possible because the Alchemicals can't Exalt without mortal guidance.

[golentan]

Indeed. The best system is probably how the Alchemical Exalted are treated- respected heroes, but they defer to mortal rulers.

That said, that's only possible because the Alchemicals can't Exalt without mortal guidance.

Also they introvert and turn into navel-inspecting cities when they start hitting the real superpowers.

I love the alchemical model, though.

[Weimann]

Hence, the goal of the plan was flawed, and largely due to the curse.

Which is what I said.

I don't think we put the same meaning in the word "goal." you can look at it in a few different ways.

Firstly, the goal of the Sidereals' plan was to save the world. Was that flawed? No, I don't think anyone can argue that.

Secondly, the goal of the Sidereals' plan was to dethrone the Solars. Was this flawed? Well, there was a prophecy who said that they could have cured them, but it was unlikely. In that light, I feel it was reasonable to go with the most safe option that still prevented total holocaust.

The flaw in the plan was where the Sidereals failed to calculate with the Abyssals and Infernals making an entrance. Thus, what in retrospect becomes objectionable is the assumption on their part that everything is goverened by Fate. They could have investigated it, but the Curse gave them hubris and they assumed they had thought about everything. This isn't a flawed goal, though, it's a flawed method.

As I see it, the Propecy has come to fruitation pretty nicely. If not for the Abyssals and Infernals, Creation would have been pretty well off (save for the Fair Folk and general politics). Now the situation is much more dire, but that wasn't the problem of the plan. If there had been no outer interference, the plan would have succeeded. Thus, it was good.

[The Rose Dragon]

Hello ladies. Look at your character, now back to me, now back to your character, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me. But if you stopped playing him in other systems and switched to Exalted, he could play like he's me.

Look down, back up, where are you? You're fighting a behemoth, with the character your character could play like. What's in your hand? Back to me. I have it: it's a Yasal Crystal with two spirits of that thing you love.

Look again: THE SPIRITS ARE NOW STARMETAL!

Anything is possible when your character plays in Exalted and not another system. I'm on the Daystar.

*whistle*

...because Old Spice Guy is awesome.

[Lix Lorn]

Hello ladies. Look at your character, now back to me, now back to your character, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me. But if you stopped playing him in other systems and switched to Exalted, he could play like he's me.

Look down, back up, where are you? You're fighting a behemoth, with the character your character could play like. What's in your hand? Back to me. I have it: it's a Yasal Crystal with two spirits of that thing you love.

Look again: THE SPIRITS ARE NOW STARMETAL!

Anything is possible when your character plays in Exalted and not another system. I'm on the Daystar.

*whistle*

...because Old Spice Guy is awesome.

...may I kiss you?

[Kyeudo]

Hello ladies. Look at your character, now back to me, now back to your character, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me. But if you stopped playing him in other systems and switched to Exalted, he could play like he's me.

Look down, back up, where are you? You're fighting a behemoth, with the character your character could play like. What's in your hand? Back to me. I have it: it's a Yasal Crystal with two spirits of that thing you love.

Look again: THE SPIRITS ARE NOW STARMETAL!

Anything is possible when your character plays in Exalted and not another system. I'm on the Daystar.

*whistle*

...because Old Spice Guy is awesome.

Even Sesame Street thinks so.

[The Rose Dragon]

...may I kiss you?

Yes, but only a chaste kiss.

[Kellhus]

I think I would have preferred a setting without a Great Curse, or if the Great Curse were more of a prophetic "Ha-Ha, you're boned now..." from the dying gasps of the Primordials.

Imagine: The Solars went insane and paranoid because they were flawed human beings being given ultimate power and thousand year spans. The Lunars became animalistic just from too much contact with their animals sides and a capricious Goddess. The Sidereals became arrogant and immersed in groupthink because they were in charge of the bureaucracy that ran all of Creation for thousands of years.

The tragedy is more poignant when it's essentially human failings that doom us, failings that exist no matter how many perfect defense charms we have, problems that can't be fixed by punching.

[Lix Lorn]

Yes, but only a chaste kiss.

(gives chaste kiss)

The tragedy is more poignant when it's essentially human failings that doom us, failings that exist no matter how many perfect defense charms we have, problems that can't be fixed by punching.

Yeah... but that's a really, really depressing setting, no?

Oh, question. XD Essence Cannons. Are they canon? Where are the rules for them?
...
Pun not intended.

[The Rose Dragon]

Oh, question. XD Essence Cannons. Are they canon? Where are the rules for them?

Oh, the irony of being asked this question right after a discussion about what counts as Exalted canon.

Yes, they are canon. Yes, they have rules. They can be found in Wonders of the Lost Age, along with the rules for power armor, warstriders and dinosaurs that eat opium and piss heroin.

[Lix Lorn]

Hooray! (Hugs)
(goes to get)

[Ganurath]

Hello ladies. Look at your character, now back to me, now back to your character, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me. But if you stopped playing him in other systems and switched to Exalted, he could play like he's me.

Look down, back up, where are you? You're fighting a behemoth, with the character your character could play like. What's in your hand? Back to me. I have it: it's a Yasal Crystal with two spirits of that thing you love.

Look again: THE SPIRITS ARE NOW STARMETAL!

Anything is possible when your character plays in Exalted and not another system. I'm on the Daystar.

*whistle*

...because Old Spice Guy is awesome.

Old Spice Guy knows how to flurry Ring and Cup Shaping attacks at the audience.

Back on topic: Anybody else notice the top right corner of the last panel adding Ten's hand to the scene where it wasn't the previous panel? The Memetic Monk is in motion...

[The Rose Dragon]

Hooray! (Hugs)
(goes to get)

Honestly, though, the personal ones aren't very powerful. You're likely better off getting a powerbow.

[Jokasti]

Hello ladies. Look at your character, now back to me, now back to your character, now back to me. Sadly, he isn't me. But if you stopped playing him in other systems and switched to Exalted, he could play like he's me.

Look down, back up, where are you? You're fighting a behemoth, with the character your character could play like. What's in your hand? Back to me. I have it: it's a Yasal Crystal with two spirits of that thing you love.

Look again: THE SPIRITS ARE NOW STARMETAL!

Anything is possible when your character plays in Exalted and not another system. I'm on the Daystar.

*whistle*

...because Old Spice Guy is awesome.

Ladies...
I think yours works better though.

[Ganurath]

Honestly, though, the personal ones aren't very powerful. You're likely better off getting a powerbow.

We're talking about Exalted. Fluff>Mechanics.

[Lix Lorn]

We're talking about Exalted. Fluff>Mechanics.

I'd say that in any game. But yeah. <3

[Teln]

I think I would have preferred a setting without a Great Curse, or if the Great Curse were more of a prophetic "Ha-Ha, you're boned now..." from the dying gasps of the Primordials.

Imagine: The Solars went insane and paranoid because they were flawed human beings being given ultimate power and thousand year spans. The Lunars became animalistic just from too much contact with their animals sides and a capricious Goddess. The Sidereals became arrogant and immersed in groupthink because they were in charge of the bureaucracy that ran all of Creation for thousands of years.

The tragedy is more poignant when it's essentially human failings that doom us, failings that exist no matter how many perfect defense charms we have, problems that can't be fixed by punching.

Personally, I prefer the Curse. I just prefer a setting where the rampant madness is explicitly not a result of the designers hitting us over the head with the "Humanity SUCKS!" stick.

Also, I think it's more tragic to have all the bad **** that's happened since the Primordial War be completely and utterly avoidable.

Lastly, which is more awesome: The few Exalted who figure out what's going on learning that there's nothing they can do about it but angst, or the few Exalted who figure it out going for an all-or-nothing Hail Mary high-risk-high-reward long shot to fix the setting once and for all?

[Kris Strife]

Except they didn't take the long shot. They went with the easy, "kill them all" plan and arguably made things worse.

[Teln]

I meant a group of PCs, not the Bronze Faction. Sorry about the mixup.

[Drascin]

We're talking about Exalted. Fluff>Mechanics.

Indeed. I mean, if you cared about mechanics, you probably wouldn't play Exalted.

(Zing! )

Had to be said

[The Rose Dragon]

Indeed. I mean, if you cared about mechanics, you probably wouldn't play Exalted.

(Zing! )[/COLOR]

Man, if I were in the habit of quoting things in my signature, I would totally quote this in my signature.

Instead, I hereby grant you 1 (one) Internet.

[Solarn]

I don't think we put the same meaning in the word "goal." you can look at it in a few different ways.

Firstly, the goal of the Sidereals' plan was to save the world. Was that flawed? No, I don't think anyone can argue that.

Secondly, the goal of the Sidereals' plan was to dethrone the Solars. Was this flawed? Well, there was a prophecy who said that they could have cured them, but it was unlikely. In that light, I feel it was reasonable to go with the most safe option that still prevented total holocaust.

The flaw in the plan was where the Sidereals failed to calculate with the Abyssals and Infernals making an entrance. Thus, what in retrospect becomes objectionable is the assumption on their part that everything is goverened by Fate. They could have investigated it, but the Curse gave them hubris and they assumed they had thought about everything. This isn't a flawed goal, though, it's a flawed method.

As I see it, the Propecy has come to fruitation pretty nicely. If not for the Abyssals and Infernals, Creation would have been pretty well off (save for the Fair Folk and general politics). Now the situation is much more dire, but that wasn't the problem of the plan. If there had been no outer interference, the plan would have succeeded. Thus, it was good.

You seem to forget that even without the Abyssals and Infernals, the Dragon-Blooded never really managed to retain the control over Creation that they wrested from the Solars and with time, they grew corrupt and decadent. After all, they have the Curse just like any other Exalted even if it's weaker. Essentially, the Sidereals doomed Creation to a slow and lingering decay that had nothing to do with the influence of either the Neverborn or the Yozi instead of more immediate destruction.

[Kyeudo]

You seem to forget that even without the Abyssals and Infernals, the Dragon-Blooded never really managed to retain the control over Creation that they wrested from the Solars and with time, they grew corrupt and decadent. After all, they have the Curse just like any other Exalted even if it's weaker. Essentially, the Sidereals doomed Creation to a slow and lingering decay that had nothing to do with the influence of either the Neverborn or the Yozi instead of more immediate destruction.

Actually, the Dragon-Blooded's biggest trouble in handlingCreation was dealing with gods who wanted to run the Terrestrials through bureaucratic gymnastics because they didn't have the Creation Ruling Mandate. Other than that, they had Creation well in hand until the Great Contagion rolled out. Chejop Kejack was close to manipulating the Shogunate into turning into a democracy (within 10 years if memory serves) when the Great Contagion ruined a millenia of work.