Rise of the Green Sun Princes! (Another Exalted Log)

[Beowulf DW]

...Ummm...Where do I begin?

Are the Yozis and the Neverborn related somehow? If so, what is their relationship? Would Abyssal and Infernal Exalted ever want to work together?

I'm not entirely familiar with this system, nor the mythology that frames it, for that matter.

[TheCountAlucard]

...Ummm...Where do I begin?

Just so you know, your post seems to be one of those that mysteriously hides itself from half the viewers - I noticed someone had posted to the thread, but your post itself didn't show up until I hit "reply." As such, kinda doing this by hand.

Are the Yozis and the Neverborn related somehow?

Yes.

If so, what is their relationship?

In the time before the First Age, the Primordials were the innovators of the realms of Creation and Yu-Shan. These guys, the Yozis and the Neverborn? They're the remnants of those beings. The Neverborn are those Primordials that were killed in battle or put to death afterward, slain at the hands of the Exalted host and cursing them forevermore upon their deaths. The Yozis are those who either surrendered or were captured; they were jailed in a prison of their own mutilated bodies, primarily that of their now-corporeal brass king.

Would Abyssal and Infernal Exalted ever want to work together?

That'd largely depend on individual preferences, but if their bosses had any say in it, it'd be, "No, outside of the extent to which you can use that schlub to further your own goals."

I'm not entirely familiar with this system, nor the mythology that frames it, for that matter.

No worries.

[Burnheart]

I'm not entirely familiar with this system, nor the mythology that frames it, for that matter.

Neither am i but this is still an awesome read

[Volthawk]

That'd largely depend on individual preferences, but if their bosses had any say in it, it'd be, "No, outside of the extent to which you can use that schlub to further your own goals."

Yeah, given how their goals (At least, the one for the Exalt type at large, given by the Neverborn/Yozi) are kinda at odds with another. See, the given goal for Abyssals is to pretty much kill everything forever, while the Infernal goal is the Reclamation, which is where the demons/GSPs invade Creation, take it over so the Yozi can rule it again. If we're talking renegade/heretical on either side, though, then the Exalt types don't matter as much.

[Feriority]

It's worth pointing out that both Infernals and Abyssals are corrupted Solars (hence the term Solaroids for all three). The Yozi and the Neverborn actually cooperated to obtain and corrupt some of the Solar exaltations which they used to create their variants.

Yes, their long-term goals are in conflict, but in the short term both can have compatible objectives - destroying something that's an obstacle to both the Reclamation and killing everything in creation, for example. Their bosses would probably expect them to try to control and use the other to complete the common goal in such a way as to favor their own long-term goal, if such an action happened.

The reason that's unlikely, though, is that the Neverborn don't really directly command the Abyssals, outside of whispering madness and urging to kill into their minds and punishing Abyssals who don't act emo enough on any given day. The Deathlords - ghosts of thirteen powerful Solars - act as commanders for the Neverborn, and manage the Abyssals directly. Each Deathlord has their own schemes, and not only seems to be dragging their heels on the grand plan, but will actively interfere with the other Deathlords to further their own petty objectives (which largely involve ruling the underworld rather than bothering with Creation).

So Abyssals serving different Deathlords will often have trouble working with each other, let alone with a different kind of Exalt entirely. It's still entirely possible for an Abyssal and an Infernal to team up, but it probably won't be part of their orders, just their own personal decision.

[Beowulf DW]

Ah. Thank you all. I had no idea that the Neverborn and the Yozis were actually two groups of Primordials.

And sorry about the initial wierdness of my earlier post. No idea what happened there.

[TheCountAlucard]

Ah. Thank you all. I had no idea that the Neverborn and the Yozis were actually two groups of Primordials.

No problem.

And sorry about the initial wierdness of my earlier post. No idea what happened there.

I think it's not anything to do with you, just one of those random forum bugs.

I'll be sure and post the details for the latest session soon, though it'll still have to wait a little longer; got a houseguest, and his very presence is draining my mental fortitude.

[Kurosen]

No problem.

I think it's not anything to do with you, just one of those random forum bugs.

I'll be sure and post the details for the latest session soon, though it'll still have to wait a little longer; got a houseguest, and his very presence is draining my mental fortitude.

the fact that the houseguest is alive is a good thing in itself XD

[Arbane]

In the time before the First Age, the Primordials were the innovators of the realms of Creation and Yu-Shan. These guys, the Yozis and the Neverborn? They're the remnants of those beings. The Neverborn are those Primordials that were killed in battle or put to death afterward, slain at the hands of the Exalted host and cursing them forevermore upon their deaths. The Yozis are those who either surrendered or were captured; they were jailed in a prison of their own mutilated bodies, primarily that of their now-corporeal brass king.

It's worth noting that the Yozis are apparently creeped out by the Neverborn. A combination of "that could've been me!" and the feeling of UTTER WRONGNESS most of us would probably have if confronted with a half-decayed talking corpse.

[SKarious]

So, any news of the campaign maybe? </zoidberg>

[TheCountAlucard]

So, any news of the campaign maybe? </zoidberg>

All right, just for you.

Into the Chase

So, Abbadon travels into the Black Chase in the dead of night to see after Ormagöden. Though the essence of the Underworld does not sit well with him, he feels no fear as he traverses this eternally-dying sprawl of trees. A good distance down the road, he discovers signs that something massive recently made its way through. He pursues these tracks, and eventually comes across the collapsed ruins of Elegant Sonah's tomb, where he recognizes the scorch marks of a "Green Sun Nimbus Flare," a technique that he and Ormagöden both use in combat.

Rightly assuming that this behemoth-thing pursued Ormagöden, he continues following the tracks until he reaches the creature, which has finally stopped playing with Ormagöden, having pinned him down. However, the creature re-orients itself to face Abbadon, twisting off the hand pinning Ormagöden in the process, and they begin fighting.

Abbadon uses a fallen tree as a springboard to reach the behemoth's skull, upon which he stands and into which he attempts to ram his daiklave. Meanwhile, Ormagöden has discovered that the hand pinning him has relented, but now his body (or more specifically, his skeleton) is moving of its own volition, drawing his grimcleaver and walking toward the procession. Abbadon succeeds in splitting the creature's cranium, allowing him to see the screaming horror within; it successfully shakes him off by then, and darts off the path to begin some sort of necromantic spell. Ormagöden briefly fights the control long enough to hurl his artifact axe to Abbadon, urging him to destroy the beast. However, as the hekatonkhire weaves a spell and Abbadon charges at him, the first rays of sunrise penetrate the forest, causing the Beast to howl and be swallowed up by the earth.

But it's not dead.

Abbadon notices a skeleton in the treetops, clad in finely-crafted black jade armor. He decides to bring it along with him, observing that several details from this cadaver suggest that it is truly ancient. Also, Ormagöden discovered that the looted things from the tomb (a mask, a pair of bracers, and an orichalcum amulet) did not seem to resonate properly with his Essence - not like the hell-tainted artifacts of hell he was given.

Following that, they decide to make their way to Rubylak, capital of the Linowan, so that Abbadon can meet with his wife again, as well as attend some sort of summer festival of "Golden-Eyed Jorst," an arboreal deity.

Meanwhile, in the Saltspire League...

Gene and Yuki are discussing how they might further Yuki's goals of establishing an order of assassins in the Silent Wind's name. Luckily, Gene has something of a plan for this - let rumors circulate in the more criminal parts of the League that a certain target must be killed, but a hefty reward will be given to those who can successfully kill this individual on a certain date. However, this is a farce, and the target's "home" is actually a gauntlet with which to test would-be recruits - the target is, in fact, a disguised demon, and Gene and Yuki assess those who make the attempts.

They learn that one of the more successful ones who made the attempt was, in fact, a God-Blooded. Interesting, that.

Following that, Gene decides to travel to Karn, to see if Nalla Bloodaxe and the people of Karn would be willing to join in his economic organization. All in all, such an endeavor will probably take a good while; his player and I intend to hammer out the finer details sometime this week...

Fetch Quest, Part Four...

After meeting with his wife again, Abbadon attends the festival, where he and Ormagöden obtain some minor fame from telling a "tall tale" of how they stood against the Beast of the Chase. Afterward, they decided they needed to travel to Malfeas; Ormagöden so he could attune to his prior incarnation's gear more easily, and Abbadon so that he could present the bones to Ligier.

This time, however, they have a key. The key allows them to instantly transport themselves from Creation to Malfeas (bypassing the Endless Desert in the process), but not vice-versa, by inserting this key into any door. One downside, though, is that it only works at night.

Anyway, once in Malfeas, they head for their respective goals - Ormagöden goes to research vitriol, and Abbadon travels to the forge of Ligier. Ligier deems that the bones are indeed just the ingredient he needed. He even goes into detail about the magical armor the skeleton was clad in - a suit of articulated full plate crafted by none other than Autochthon himself. Abbadon asks Ligier if he would be willing to repurpose it such that Abbadon could wear it, which Ligier agrees to.

Ormagöden, meanwhile, did some reading at the libraries of Orabilis, and came to the conclusion that the items would need to be baptized in vitriol, the acidic and hateful element native to the Demon City; unfortunately, he does not have the skills to properly work vitriol... but Ligier does. Ligier is just as fascinated with the items of Elegant Sonah, demonstrating to Ormagöden how each works - the mask can be used to alter the wearer's visage, as well as magically conceal his true emotions. The bracers add to the bearer's offensive and defensive powers, and the amulet actually produces clothing out of nowhere for the owner, able to even make dazzling raiments out of solidified light. Ormagöden liked the prospect of that, and Ligier was all-too-happy to make the alterations needed.

After another day, Abbadon got a couple of surprises - one, his hellstrider was finished, and two... he's been formally invited to the Ebon Dragon's wedding, come next Calibration.

Oh, and there was also an incident in which Ormagöden fell into an open sewer. He encountered a huge, yellowish-white blob of flesh that apparently eats everything down there. The thing lays sessile, taking in everything, and growing larger as it does, only for lesser attendant demons to then slice off pieces of its flesh, which get carted away, presumably in the direction of the marketplace. Realizing that may well have been one of the tasty victuals he had imbibed while at the Althing Infernal, Ormagöden gets a little bit sick.

[Burnheart]

So that's 2 things i've got to look forward too then, The Ebon Dragon's wedding which sounds like great fun and Abbadon testing his new toy (or weapon of mass destruction whatever ).

[TheCountAlucard]

Abbadon testing his new toy (or weapon of mass destruction whatever).

Probably a mix of the two.

We decided that the hellstrider was red in color, and covered in a horrific mix of coarse bristled fur, chitinous plates, and crystalline growths. It's also built such that it doesn't have a head, and instead has a terrifying demon face on the torso. Its weapons, a morningstar and a scimitar, are made of the same black iron as its skeleton, and when not in use, it can absorb them into its body.

[Beowulf DW]

Probably a mix of the two.

...it doesn't have a head, and instead has a terrifying demon face on the torso...

...Someone's been watching Gurren Laggan I see.

[Arbane]

...Someone's been watching Gurren Laggan I see.

Maybe not - he didn't mention sunglasses.

[Teln]

After another day, Abbadon got a couple of surprises - one, his hellstrider was finished, and two... he's been formally invited to the Ebon Dragon's wedding, come next Calibration.

Alucard, you are evil.

Oh, and there was also an incident in which Ormagöden fell into an open sewer. He encountered a huge, yellowish-white blob of flesh that apparently eats everything down there. The thing lays sessile, taking in everything, and growing larger as it does, only for lesser attendant demons to then slice off pieces of its flesh, which get carted away, presumably in the direction of the marketplace. Realizing that may well have been one of the tasty victuals he had imbibed while at the Althing Infernal, Ormagöden gets a little bit sick.

Hey, don't knock it 'till you've tried it!

[TheCountAlucard]

...Someone's been watching Gurren Laggan I see.

Actually we joked about that as well.

Gene's player: "It's a sentient being, right? Now we just need you to have it wish to be big, and I can make it grow four times in size..."

Ormagöden's player: "Yeah, and then we can put a warstrider on top of it..."

Me: "Gurren Lagann! SPIN ON!"

It being headless was part of the adjustments necessary to house a nine-foot-tall Exalt, as was making it a few feet taller than your typical warstrider/hellstrider.

[Kurosen]

So that's 2 things i've got to look forward too then, The Ebon Dragon's wedding which sounds like great fun and Abbadon testing his new toy (or weapon of mass destruction whatever ).

Actually we did test it, Alucard forgot to mention that i didn't accidently fall into the sewer, I was thrown by the hellstrider! though with a perfect soak its no problem

[TheCountAlucard]

though with a perfect soak its no problem

You mean perfect parry.

That's right; if Ormagöden falls two hundred miles, but happens to fall into a city, he can parry the ground.

[Tavar]

You mean perfect parry.

That's right; if Ormagöden falls two hundred miles, but happens to fall into a city, he can parry the ground.

Um...I'm pretty sure that's currently not how it works. Falling would be an environmental effect, and thus can't be parried.

[TheCountAlucard]

Um...I'm pretty sure that's currently not how it works. Falling would be an environmental effect, and thus can't be parried.

Actually, if you'll look, errata says environmental effects can be perfectly parried, or dodged, though you have to use it on every interval in which you're exposed to it. However, you're right, in that it goes on to say that falling is not environmental damage, and can't be parried or dodged with the standard SSE/HGD, and as such, the only ways to prevent it are stuff like Duck Fate that prevents you from falling in the first place, or a perfect soak.

However, Ablation of Brass and Fire explicitly states that you can use it to protect yourself against damage from falling.

[Kurosen]

Um...I'm pretty sure that's currently not how it works. Falling would be an environmental effect, and thus can't be parried.

well I was technically thrown, if that changes things...

[Volthawk]

Actually, if you'll look, errata says environmental effects can be perfectly parried, or dodged, though you have to use it on every interval in which you're exposed to it. However, you're right, in that it goes on to say that falling is not environmental damage, and can't be parried or dodged with the standard SSE/HGD.

However, Ablation of Brass and Fire explicitly states that you can perfect against falling with it.

Wait, you can parry lava? Huh.

Guess you make a barrier of sword between you and lava.

[TheCountAlucard]

Wait, you can parry lava? Huh.

Yes, provided you're not falling into it or already immersed in it. But if it's running down a slope at you or something, you can channel your awesomeness and part the flow with your daiklave or something. Be creative.

[pondeshonda]

So that's 2 things i've got to look forward too then, The Ebon Dragon's wedding which sounds like great fun

I've been assured that ED isn't marrying my character's wife but let's be honest here it's the Ebon freakin Dragon. Even if it isn't that bad, we all know he is going to try to pull something.

[Urpriest]

Alucard,

Spoiler

Show

in this campaign, is RotSE canon by any chance?

[TheCountAlucard]

Alucard,

Spoiler

Show

in this campaign, is RotSE canon by any chance?

Spoiler

Show

Not in its entirety - there are elements to it that I intend on utilizing, but a certain PC has already pretty much mucked up the Reclamation.

[/Natsu]

I'll explain more when I'm not feeling as secretive.

[Edge]

Spoiler

Show

Not in its entirety - there are elements to it that I intend on utilizing, but a certain PC has already pretty much mucked up the Reclamation.

[/Natsu]

I'll explain more when I'm not feeling as secretive.

Oh this is going to be good.

Not that it isn't already. Err...

This is going to be better.

[Arbane]

Wait, you can parry lava? Huh.

Guess you make a barrier of sword between you and lava.

They're called "Perfect Defenses" for a reason. With the right Charms, an Exalted can literally dodge a tax audit, shrug off taking infinite damage, or parry an angry Primordial trying to hit them with a mountain range.

[SKarious]

In Malfeas, refreshments eat you!

Plot is coming along very nicely. Ebon Dragon's wedding? This will be fun.
Hellstrider sounds awesome, but where do you keep it when not in use? Can you summon it with charms like normal armor and weapons?
Do vitriol-tainted artifacts function differently from their normal forms?
Also, any news from Natsu's player?