General Exalted Discussion V: Our Armies are Pants

[Turalisj]

Would anyone be interested in a Cowboy Bebop style game? I would be willing to work over AIM to flesh out ideas.

It wouldn't be too long of a game, only lasting for,a few months.

[ShadowFighter15]

How about not adding four motes to Attunement, and instead have the option of spending 4m for a scenelong activation of CBA?

This actually seems like the best way to do it, but I think I'll still up the attunement cost by a couple of motes or so to be on the safe side and to cover the Melee-or-Thrown-for-aiming bit.

Either way, it'll give more-or-less the same effect whether it's a constant ability of the sword or one the Abyssal has to spend four motes to activate.

[Yuki Akuma]

Would anyone be interested in a Cowboy Bebop style game? I would be willing to work over AIM to flesh out ideas.

It wouldn't be too long of a game, only lasting for,a few months.

Hm, would I be interested in a Cowboy Bebop style game?

Yes.

(I'm not sure what you mean by "Cowboy Bebop style", but as long as that gets to be our theme tune...)

[Turalisj]

By style, I mean travelling Creation in a broken down ship, always on the verge of being broke, with the demons of your past haunting you.

[Volthawk]

By style, I mean travelling Creation in a broken down ship, always on the verge of being broke, with the demons of your past haunting you.

That does sound pretty cool, yeah.

[Turalisj]

*puts on Waltz For Zizi*

I'll work up a thread soon.

[IcarusWings]

By style, I mean travelling Creation in a broken down ship, always on the verge of being broke, with the demons of your past haunting you.

I've never seen Cowboy Bebop, but this does sound cool. Would there be a space open for someone who doesn't know the source material?

[Turalisj]

Sure, you don't need to know Cowboy Bebop to apply.

You should still go and watch the anime, because it is one of the best ever made.

[golentan]

I've started scheming up ideas for a Total Conversion to make Gurren Lagann playable with exalted. I'll keep you guys updated if it goes anywhere.

[Turalisj]

My Dire Lance Is The Dire Lance That Pierces The Well Of Souls!

[Edge]

I've started scheming up ideas for a Total Conversion to make Gurren Lagann playable with exalted. I'll keep you guys updated if it goes anywhere.

You are a good man. Or woman. I can't tell with this forum in the way.

Also, hi there. Got into Exalted via Keychain of Creation, and have loved it ever since.

Now, I'm going to be running a PbP for some old friends, due to us meeting for a face to face game regularly being difficult due to travel considerations. So, any hints for a first time Exalted Storyteller running for a group completely new to the game?

[Qaera]

Welcome!

I would say start with Solars. They give you a base from which to determine everyone else's power level, and can generally be played by inexperienced players, as more established groups can be harder.

Test the waters, combat-wise. See what they can defeat easily (a few Solars together is easily very powerful) and scale up to provide better gaming and more difficult challenges.

Be a little liberal with stunts; it's easy to try, but often times beginners really don't get to what the general community describes as "Exalted Awesome (TM)" until a few sessions, but the should still be rewarded for effort. Afterwards, conserve 2-die stunts for encounter changing actions and 3-die for speeches that have the STNPC tearing up, or everyone laughing, or stunned in amazement.

Have a general idea with where you want to go with the story, and tell the story you want to tell. First and foremost, Exalted is about fun, but second is the story. Rules are somewhere after that, so if there's a discrepancy, go with the Rule of Cool. Don't railroad, but gently nudge.

Good luck!

[Edge]

To clarify, I have played Exalted before, and have actually reached Devil-Tiger status with a character in a PbP on another forum.

Whilst starting with Solars might be easiest, I'd rather let the players go with whatever grabs their attention the most and decide Exalt type based on majority vote. I'd rather only have to worry about one Exalt type's capabilities for now.

EDIT: Plus the few vague beginnings of character concepts I've gotten back from the players so far (read: "I'm thinking of expying [insert character here]"), things are looking more like they'll be taking an Infernal or Abyssal bent.

[Qaera]

Ah, sorry, I thought you meant got into Exalted [recently]. My b.

Also, generally speaking, don't allow expies. (I'll probably get flak for this but...) I find it more interesting if players come up with a genuine, unique character concept that isn't "some random anime character but super powerful". If I ran a game and a player was running Ash Ketchum (or whatever) I would be mildly offended that they (a) didn't care enough to spend time developing an original character and (b) worried more about the character as an expy than as a character.

Maybe I'm just overly sensitive, though. If Bro A is like "Totally playing Kamina! Going to be awesome!" and you're all like "Awesome! Can't wait to see him!" then it's all cool, I guess.

Your table, man!

[Yuki Akuma]

Sure, you don't need to know Cowboy Bebop to apply.

Does that mean I can't make a character (vaguely) based on Edward?

[DragonSinged]

I have a question regarding Shadow Foot Trap. It says that to free themselves they need cumulative successes = to character's martial arts rating x 2. If you boost your MA rating with an excellency combo'd with Shadow Foot Trap, would that increase the difficulty to escape? For instance, if the martial artist normally has MA 5, then that means the target needs 10 successes to escape. Could you boost that difficulty with an excellency?

[Incendius]

I have a question regarding Shadow Foot Trap. It says that to free themselves they need cumulative successes = to character's martial arts rating x 2. If you boost your MA rating with an excellency combo'd with Shadow Foot Trap, would that increase the difficulty to escape? For instance, if the martial artist normally has MA 5, then that means the target needs 10 successes to escape. Could you boost that difficulty with an excellency?

You might be able to double it with the Third Excellency, but that might not check out since its just derived from ability rather than attribute + ability.

[Tavar]

Just wondering, does anyone know of a good fix to Lunar Hero Style?

[ShadowFighter15]

Since I was re-working the reaper daiklave of the Mistress of Pacts Sealed in Blood, I figured I'd give her a bit of a tweak. If she survives the final battle of the module and the players want to keep going with the pre-made characters, I want her to come back, possibly on their side or as an on-off ally while serving a different Deathlord. And because that would mean bumping her up to match the PCs, I figured it'd be easier to build her from the ground-up using the Errata and proper Abyssal Charms instead of hold-overs from 1e.

This is what I've done so far, she just has two BP left over as well as her four free specialties:

Spoiler

Show

Caste: Moonshadow

Attributes
-Strength 3
-Dexterity 4
-Stamina 2 (Huh. Only Stamina 2? )

-Charisma 3
-Manipulation 3
-Appearance 5

-Perception 2
-Intelligence 3
-Wits 2

Abilities (Favoured, Caste)
Melee 3
Awareness 3
Dodge 5
Integrity 3
Performance 3
Presence 1
Resistance 1
Survival 1
Linguistics 1
Socialise 2
Investigation 2
Lore 2
Occult 3

Virtues
Compassion 1
Conviction 3
Temperance 2
Valour 3

Backgrounds
Artifact 3 (Crypt Bolt-firing Reaper Daiklave, stumped on a name so I'm taking suggestions for that too)
Liege 3 (she is working with a simulacrum of Barrow Black's ghost which is being remote-controlled by the Mask of Winters in the final fight of the module)
Spies 1 (so she can find the PCs later if she survives the final fight)

Essence 3
Willpower 6

Charms:
Excellencies:
2nd Dodge
1st Melee
2nd Performance

Five Shadow Feint
Unfurling Iron Lotus
Flitting Shadow Form
Flickering Wisp Technique
Shadowlands Circle Necromancy

Necromancy Spells:
Raise the Skeletal Horde
Field of Fell Dreams
Blood Mirror Speech (as a way to contact the PCs in the future if I decide to go that route - that and to use up some BP)

I've bumped up the pre-made characters for the module, but the main changes was getting them all a Perfect Defence of some kind (Kade got HGD and the other three got SSE). Really, I just need to find out where to spend those last two BP and what to give her as far as specialties go.

EDIT: Forgot her Combo:
Whirlwind of Bloody Oblivion
Unfurling Iron Lotus, First Melee Excellency, Flickering Wisp Technique

[TheCountAlucard]

Crypt Bolt-firing Reaper Daiklave, stumped on a name so I'm taking suggestions for that too

Blade of Distant Agony?

Black Bolt Brand?

Ebon Epee?

The Umbral Foil?

Oblivion's Thunderstroke?

Ehh, guess I could haul out the thesaurus...

[Turalisj]

Soul Cleaver

[tonberrian]

Black Bolt Brand?

Ooh. I like.

[IcarusWings]

Just wondering, does anyone know of a good fix to Lunar Hero Style?

The Demented One did a fix in his pre-monkey days and, considering his standard, it's probably very good (can't really remember it), I can't find it though. Maybe on the wiki?

[ShadowFighter15]

Blade of Distant Agony?

Black Bolt Brand?

Ebon Epee?

The Umbral Foil?

Oblivion's Thunderstroke?

Ehh, guess I could haul out the thesaurus...

Blade of Distant Agony's not bad. Ebon Epee and The Umbral Foil don't seem right to me - a reaper daiklave is thin, yes, but not that thin.

Any ideas for those two BP and her specialties though? Those are the main ones I want to get sorted before worrying about the name of her sword.

[Edge]

If you're using the Dawn Solution character creation rules/the errata, you could always use those BP to bump her Willpower by 2. No idea about the specialities.

As for the daiklave: Reaching Raiton's Talon?

[ShadowFighter15]

If you're using the Dawn Solution character creation rules/the errata, you could always use those BP to bump her Willpower by 2. No idea about the specialities.

As for the daiklave: Reaching Raiton's Talon?

Well I don't want to bump her Willpower too high since there's some Social Combat (mainly for the players to get a handle on that system) and because the PCs all have Willpower 6 (except for Kade, I think he's Willpower 5) so I don't want the Mistress to be able to use her Combo too often.

I was thinking of using them for some of her abilities, but I can't decide which ones. Maybe Awareness or Resistance? Shore up any areas she might be lacking in.

EDIT: I do like that daiklave name too. I'll have to write these down so I don't lose them.

[Indon]

I've started scheming up ideas for a Total Conversion to make Gurren Lagann playable with exalted. I'll keep you guys updated if it goes anywhere.

Do you plan on bringing a new meaning to the "Magnitude" stat? (of size, of course)

[golentan]

I was planning on reworking combat so that magnitude purely was a function of the size of your mech, yes, and required a combined Essence (Spiral Rank) of all participant pilots of a Gattai! equal to or greater than the magnitude in order to pilot it.

It's a WIP at the moment.

[Qaera]

So what is the general process for making a Devil-Tiger? [/attempts to resurrect thread]

[Kyeudo]

So what is the general process for making a Devil-Tiger? [/attempts to resurrect thread]

Lots and lots of homebrew.