General Exalted Discussion Thread VII: Playground Eternal Essence

[Arcainia]

Curiosity.

Whats the General Rules That Storyteller's tend to use with Making Lunar Characters?

I'm just lazily making a character of each archetype (Lunar, etc) just to learn a little more about the whole setting and get a little more used to the system.

[Fortuna]

And within 24 hours of watching the first episode, I have already made an Exalted game based on My Little Pony. That's some powerful stuff.

Hey meschlum, care to whip up addictive TV shows when you've got a moment?

[Rikandur Azebol]

Just as planned. *smiles widely*

[DeadManSleeping]

You mean...

[Lord Raziere]

I think this is a problem with you, not with Solars.

The Solar book encourages specialization, because with enough work, a Solar is the greatest ever at what they put their mind to. Spreading out diminishes that, and I have never seen a Solar that did not have a core focus area.



Uh. You haven't actually played a Solar, have you?

Being a Solar can be hard. Infrastructure is literally the best thing you can have in Exalted. Solars have none that they do not make for themselves. Almost every other person in the setting either wants to kill them or use them for their own ends. Being a Solar means you are reliant entirely on yourself and your circle.

And do to aforesaid specialization, no, you can't just whip out a Charm for every situation, because that requires more XP then you will ever have. Being a Solar is often about maneuvering into situations where you can bring your full might to bear (and then you can start curbstomping people).

Fine then, I'll play a Solar once a game comes along or I'll try and start one myself.
But I'm not using orichalcum. too gaudy.

[Cyborg Mage]

Go ahead. Try and find room on your character sheet for that Five-Fold Resonator. I dare you.

[Lord Raziere]

Go ahead. Try and find room on your character sheet for that Five-Fold Resonator. I dare you.

I've reread the core book. You can attune to things at normal mote cost without gaining their magical material bonus. which is a very minor thing in the scheme of things.

and Fivefold Resonators are easy to make. I'll be a Twilight.

and even if I do want one? 18 bonus points. often I don't know what to do with so many.

[Cyborg Mage]

Well, point.

On the other hand, Jade Superheavy Plate.

[Lord Raziere]

I prefer the far more stylish silken armor and prayer piece.

superheavy plate is impractical and not really all that effective anyways:

-Your basically putting a big neon sign that says "ESSENCE USER" over your head at the very least when you put it on.
-Assuming you don't want the Wyld Hunt coming down on you for wearing armor, you need to spend a charm to summon it.
-Will soon become obsolete to normal perfect defenses anyways
-a lot of dots for something most people acknowledge won't work in the long run.
-Most people are intimidated when you walk around in big scary armor which makes you very conspicuous.

not ideal traits for Exalt's hunted as Anathema.

[Story Time]

...now that's an interesting idea. Transforming into a house-pet and then following around the Wyld Hunt. It'd require some...ingenuity.

[Lix Lorn]

You're aiming too low!
Take Charisma and App charms. Become the CUTEST KITTY /EVER./

Get adopted by the Mouth of Peace. Hell, why aim so low? Get adopted by Anys Syn!

[Cyborg Mage]

Become the CUTEST KITTY /EVER./

Fool. If Dwarf Fortress has taught us anything, then it is that cats are the creations of the Deathlords. I'll give you this chance to retract that statement before I have to wade through layers of furspawn to get to the Sword of Creation.

[Lord Raziere]

...now that's an interesting idea. Transforming into a house-pet and then following around the Wyld Hunt. It'd require some...ingenuity.

no…..just:

1. be Lunar

2. eat a kitty

3. find Wyld Hunt

4. transform into kitty, follow them around.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I want to buy the Exalted books, but I have to ask: what is the most common edition used on the playground?

[Cyborg Mage]

Second Edition, as far as I'm aware.

[Turalisj]

I want to buy the Exalted books, but I have to ask: what is the most common edition used on the playground?

I'm pretty sure second is the only one used.

As far as turning into a kitty, just hope that Delad isn't around....

[aetherialDawn]

I've reread the core book. You can attune to things at normal mote cost without gaining their magical material bonus. which is a very minor thing in the scheme of things.

I'd imagine doing so would result in annoyingly rigid tattoos. Their magical material bonus is part of what makes them flexible enough to basically be solid metal all around your skin.

[Lord Raziere]

So either you somehow have to incorporate a Fivefold Resonator Tattoo- which I doubt is possible, since Resonators require adamantine/adamantium, which is crystalline. crystalline adamantium + fluid Moonsilver + body = not a good combination.

so the only real option would be Vitriol if you want non-Lunar tattoos. good luck asking Malfeas for some…..unless your are of course an Infernal.

[aetherialDawn]

So either you somehow have to incorporate a Fivefold Resonator Tattoo- which I doubt is possible, since Resonators require adamantine/adamantium, which is crystalline. crystalline adamantium + fluid Moonsilver + body = not a good combination.

so the only real option would be Vitriol if you want non-Lunar tattoos. good luck asking Malfeas for some…..unless your are of course an Infernal.

First of all: Adamant.
Second of all: They're small. Skin-Mount Amulets are somewhat rigid too, but if it's small enough it can still fit on the body. A circle of (magical material of choice) in a ring of Adamant doesn't have to be placed on a joint.

[TheCountAlucard]

Plus, once again, the tattoo only really needs to be as fluid as moonsilver if the target is capable of shapeshifting - regular tattoo ink is composed of all kinds of metals, after all.

[meschlum]

No rest for the (probably) wicked.

Time to recycle some old stuff, perhaps...

The First Episode

This spell is part of a pair of potent magics that were brought from the depths of the Wyld by a particularly deranged Fair Folk. Raving of things incomprehensible even to its fellows, it left two potent spells behind, then somehow transcended the structure of the Wyld and was never seen again.

It usually manifests as a small black rectangular box, the size of a small book, with two white wheels inset within. On the side, where a title would be, a poorly attached scrap of paper reads 'Series 1, Episodes 1-6'. More recently, it has manifested as a rainbow colored disc instead, too blunt and light to do any damage when thrown. In the latter form, the text is roughly scrawled on its surface, near the hollow center of the disk.

When the spell is activated, it must be left in the dark with between five and ten mortals. Strange lights and sounds emerge from it, while the lorekeeper must perform a complex dance, pausing at awkward moments whie doing so. After a seeming eternity of the repetitive process, the spell finally triggers, and nothing will ever be the same.

Throughout the city where the spell was cast, women meld with nearby items and mutate into strange half-human beasts, crowing in glee as they consume the life force of their victims. To break the spell, the Second Episode must be used. In fact, they are so intertwined that it is impossible to cast the spells separately.

Assumption of the Living Kingdom (6)
Behemoth Forging Meditation (3) - grants Large, some amount of tough Skin, Essence Attack, Obsession (stealing life force), poison (lasting coma)... Essence 5+ recommended.
Victims are likely to die of lack of Wyld energies. They're just monsters of the week (or scene), so the fey don't care.
Any Essence attack cast by the leader of the imbued mortals (see Second Episode) will cancel the transformation.
Fall of Night Shadows the Truth (9) - the damage caused by the transformed monsters is explained away as natural occurrences. Similarly, their appearance, and that of the imbued mortals (see Second Episode) will not be recorded by mechanical devices - though their presence is still perceptible.

The manifestation of the transformation is a dark gemstone, which will melt into and transmute the first woman to touch it. Some time later (training effect), the victim will begin to metamorphose. Each Episode creates one gemstone per week, and each scene in which a monster feeds causes another gemstone to form. See the Second Episode for details on feeding.

Exponential growth is likely if the first victims are near a crowd.


The Second Episode

The appearance of this spell is nearly identical to that of the previous one, save that it bears the title 'Series 1, Episodes 7-12' instead. Casting the spell occurs simultaneously with the first, the power of each feeding the other.

When the spell goes off, the mortals who were watching it be cast are imbued with Wyld power, though they are not aware of it. Simultaneously, an equal number of small animals are transformed by the Wyld, gaining awareness and intention. These creatures seek out the imbued mortals, and can unlock the blessings bestowed on the latter, encouraging them to use their new powers. At the same time, the transformed beasts will spread out the dark gems of the First Episode, ensuring that conflict continues.

The hook to the spell is that in order to be broken, the imbued mortals must reject the power they have been granted, then destroy the Episodes, at least symbolically. As these will be hidden as soon as possible by the altered animals, and the power is addictive, this is an unlikely event.

Rumor has it that more Episodes exist, building on the power of the first two...

Assumption of Dreams and Passion (1)
Heart Stealing Kiss (3) - consumes the Willpower of the first person clinched by a monster each scene, if an imbued mortal is present to witness it. This is the monster's feeding effect.
Mad God Mien (1) (Countermagic does not work)
Behemoth Forging Meditation (3) (on the imbued mortals) - grants Essence Attack, gender change (to female), multiple derangements (yelling strange names before attacking, posing, believing talking animals, etc.) (Recommended Essence 6+)
The multiple derangements allow the transformation to be instantaneous.
The mortal with the highest Compassion is the leader, and gets extra derangements. Just because.
Subversion and Transformation Artifice (3) - grants animals sentience, has them bond with the imbued mortals and unknowningly spread the gems.
Ordinary Object Conjuration (3) - by performing a rather demeaning dance routine, the animals can create small objects, which serve no useful purpose. However, the imbued mortal to which they are bonded can use the object as a trigger, activating and cancelling their transformation.
Shiftless Untamed Beauty (3) - the imbued mortals won't even think of wanting to stop their transformations.

Insert Sailor Moon theme music here. *Cackle*.


Good enough? Or maybe some new things.


The Adventures of Aral

Aral does not exist. In fact, Aral is defined by non-existence, and invests a lot of effort into remaining that way. On the other hand, in places where its Adventures spread, one cannot help but dream of Aral, speak of Aral, and hope one day to take part.

When the Raksha decide that a land must be blessed with the Adventures, their agents find three suitable stores and offer a new marvel for sale in each - as many as may be requested, at an incredibly low price. The form of the marvel changes with each manifestation, but there are records of weird metal spheres, intricate horse figurines, sparkly sticks, and strange magitech boxes with wide screens.

Once a hundred or more marvels have been sold at each store, supplies are temporarily exhausted, and the Adventures begin. Each day, at the same time, the owners of the marvels, and their friends, can sit down (or stand, even) and watch it work. Somehow, the marvel depicts an enchanting tale, describing the trials and successes of Aral.

These stories are so fascinating that the Adventures soon become the main focus of the lives of marvel owners, while others grow jealous. But fortunately, the tales of Aral teach how one might gain new marvels for oneself! It's simple, really - just find the store, or do what Aral would do, or take the marvel. You need it more than they do, anyway - how else can you be sure that you've seen everything? Don't you know that there are new Adventures coming out at other times, and your so-called friend isn't telling you about them?

Each time they are watched, the Adventures become more detailed, the character of Aral more refined. Perhaps, one day soon, if enough of your friends watch them too... Aral will visit!

4-dot Oneiromancy (lasts 1 year, so one season's worth of Adventures)
Assumption of the Living Kingdom - one could almost suspect it affects an entire zone.
Shiftless Untamed Beauty - addictive effect
Ordinary Object Conjuration - creates marvels
Prince and Pauper Approach - anyone owning a marvel is hiding some of the stories from you, watching them when you're not there.


Teh Kitteh Collar

After much study, an Entertainer determined that Creation-born were uniquely susceptible to a specific form. Entering a bargain with a passing Diplomat, it extracted the essence of this form, to wear as perfume in the Wyld - and simply wear in Creation - and then visited that benighted land.

Despite the perfection of its disguise, some Exalted Creation-born did not immediately swear to blindly serve it, so it retreated to the Wyld. There, it plotted further with the Diplomat, and once more gained power. At what price? No matter, for from now on Creation would be its oyster.

(Purr)

1-dot Oneiromancy (inward facing)
Assumption of Kitteh Form - it looks like Teh CUTEST Kitteh birthmark EVAR!
Kitteh Transformation - the wearer of the Collar is turned into an OMG sparkly Kitteh! Yay!
Fall of Night Shadows the Truth - of course teh Kitteh always acts like a Kitteh!
Untouchable Performer Technique - NO ONE SAY BAD THINGS ABOUT MY KITTEH!
Gladdening Visage - It's perfectly normal Kitteh!
Ordinary Object Conjuration - Teh Kitteh always has an adorable ball of yarn to play with.
Mad God Mien - it's just a normal Kitteh! There's no yucky magic involved.

1-dot Oneiromancy (outward facing)
Assumption of Dreams and Passion - the Collar is simply the cutest thing EVAR!
Manacles of Virtue - the Compassion of any onlookers for Kittehs is raised to astronomical levels.
Shiftless Untamed Beauty - MY KITTEH! DON'T TOUCH!
Unwanted Obsession Provocation Technique - But I WANT to lurve mah Kitteh! It's NOT Unwanted!

2-dot Adjuration
Brilliant Glinting Lure - it takes a single scene to fall in LURVE with Teh Kitteh.

[Rikandur Azebol]

*faints from overdose of happiness*

Where is my kitteh ?

[Lix Lorn]

Fool. If Dwarf Fortress has taught us anything, then it is that cats are the creations of the Deathlords. I'll give you this chance to retract that statement before I have to wade through layers of furspawn to get to the Sword of Creation.

Cats are PURE EVIL.
Also sheer ADORABLE.

[Cyborg Mage]

... Something tells me someone is going to sig that.

[Mr.Bookworm]

I want to buy the Exalted books, but I have to ask: what is the most common edition used on the playground?

Second edition. The only people I have ever seen that played first edition were on a Spanish-speaking board.

The core book has all of the base mechanics and all of the information you need to play a Solar. From there, there's quite a few splats.

You also want the Scroll of Errata. You might as well also pick up the Ink Monkey's stuff. Both are free.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Second edition. The only people I have ever seen that played first edition were on a Spanish-speaking board.

The core book has all of the base mechanics and all of the information you need to play a Solar. From there, there's quite a few splats.

You also want the Scroll of Errata. You might as well also pick up the Ink Monkey's stuff. Both are free.

I can't get the errata since my iPad only downloads apps and the laptop doesn't have much memory. T.T

What are all the different exalted types like? I don't want to buy all the splats since I'm saving up for a netbook, so I want to know which ones I want now and which ones I'll buy after I get all the D&D books (which'll take a while (understatement of the year)).

[TheCountAlucard]

What are all the different exalted types like?

Lunars - shapeshifters in dire need of errata regarding both fluff and crunch.
Sidereals - fate-ninjas in dire need of errata regarding both fluff and crunch.
Abyssals - deathy Oblivion guys whose Charmset is a dark mirror of the Solar Charmset.
Infernals - demony Primordial guys whose Charmset is borrowed from the titans that empowered them, until they can start making their own.
Alchemicals - magic Communist robots.
Terrestrials - weakest, but the most numerous, with powers centered around teamwork and elemental associations. They've already recieved the loving touch of errata.
Solars - whether you like them or not, you're going to need the Core book anyway.

Non-Exalts:
Fair Folk - just watch meschlum's posts for a few threads.
Gods - very hard to play, requiring such an alien mindset.
Demons - see above.
Dragon Kings - the mystical remnants of a dying race. Dinosaur people.
Mortals - you're pretty much screwed.
Half-X - same as above, but you have a bit more power.

[Drascin]

What are all the different exalted types like? I don't want to buy all the splats since I'm saving up for a netbook, so I want to know which ones I want now and which ones I'll buy after I get all the D&D books (which'll take a while (understatement of the year)).

Solars: Shiny heroes recently reborn. They come with the core so you'll have them either way, so I won't bother with describing them much .

Lunars: Shapeshifter exalted, pretty animal themed. They're supposed to be Steewards of Creation, the guys who camp at the border of the world and punch the uglies trying to come in the face. Their powers are more about rawness than finesse - a Lunar doesn't increase his melee ability to swing his sword better, he improves his body to have a greater dexterity and thereby is better at fighting as a result.

Sidereals: Men in Black in service of the Celestial Bureaucracy. They have a light touch, manipulate circumstances indirectly, and are tasked with seeing that fate runs as it should. They have weird, esoteric powers in the vein of using the ability Dodge to dodge a question or using Larceny to steal your train of thought, thereby distracting you. They are also sitting on a trove of forgotten martial arts styles, some of which do things like punching people into ducks.

Dragonblooded: "Lesser" in power, but the only Exalts who have hereditary Exaltation, the dragonblooded are children of the Elemental Dragons and therefore get primarily elemental powers, such as shooting balls of fire or ice, running like the wind, and so on. They also get a teamwork theme - one DB is not much of a problem, a well-synchronized team of five DBs in tandem is a good reason to run away.

Abyssals: Darkened mirrors of the Solars. Basically Death Exalted. I'm going to put it this way: They have a charm to make music that can kill you. They have a charm to make an argument that can kill you. They have a charm to give you a look that can kill you. And we haven't even reached the actual killing charms yet . They have a lot of death trappings and are servants of the Deathlords, ghost lords that want to destroy the world. Also, gothic trappings. So, so many gothic trappings.

Infernals: Tainted Solars imbued with the power of the crazy elder gods that made the world. They get very strange powers themed after their patrons. Said patrons (called Yozis) want to use the Infernals to get out of the Hell where the other Exalts kicked them in, so the Infernals are pretty much the warlords of Hell, with a lot of authority over all the legions of the Yozis.

Alchemicals: Robotic exalted. Unlike most exalted, Alchemicals are Servants of the people, instead of their rulers. They live in Autochthonia, a world of strange magipunk currenly separate from Creation by a barrier. Their abilities are powerful, but modular, and the alchemicals are limited in how many of these modules they can bring every time they sortie. A prepared Alchemical is highly dangerous, an unprepared one is easy pickings.

[Dragnar]

Non-Exalts:
Fair Folk - just watch meschlum's posts for a few threads.
Gods - very hard to play, requiring such an alien mindset.
Demons - see above.
Dragon Kings - the mystical remnants of a dying race. Dinosaur people.
Mortals - you're pretty much screwed.
Half-X - same as above, but you have a bit more power.

Hey! You left out the best ones.
Jadeborn: Magic dwarves/elves, cursed due to the solars being jerks.

[Volthawk]

I can't get the errata since my iPad only downloads apps and the laptop doesn't have much memory. T.T

What are all the different exalted types like? I don't want to buy all the splats since I'm saving up for a netbook, so I want to know which ones I want now and which ones I'll buy after I get all the D&D books (which'll take a while (understatement of the year)).

Well

Solars you'd get anyway, since they're in the core book that explains the general setting (other books go into greater detail) and also the rules of the system. They're all about doing what people do, just better/the best, and don't particularly have a niche/role in the setting laid out for them. Pretty much the wild cards of the setting.

Abyssals are people with Solar Exaltations that have been stolen and then...flipped around, kinda, by the Neverborn (creators of Creation that were killed but can't really die due to their links to Creation). Essentially, they have pretty much the same charmset as Solars, but just changed a little to focus around death and the Underworld. The Deathlords who Exalt them serve the Neverborn, who want to kill everything. Essentially the bad guy that everyone can beat up without feeling too bad. Some turn renegade when they think "actually, I don't want to kill everything for good."

Green Sun Princes/Infernals (Infernals can refer to GSPs or Akuma, which are people that basically trade their free will for power) are like Abyssals in that their Exaltation was a Solar one, but instead of just being flipped around it's been twisted by the Yozi (creators like Autochton and the Neverborn, but alive, mutilated by the Solars and locked up within one of themselves) to make something different. Their Charms consist of those of the Yozi that open up their charms to the Green Sun Princes, and they can also combine different Yozi's charms into Heretical Charms, the biggest being the Devil-Tiger charm, where they become like mini-Primordials with a custom charmset, caste and the like depending on their own themes and nature.

Sidereals work for Heaven, and they make sure everyone goes to plan in Creation. They have two factions, Gold and Bronze - Gold is on the side of the Solars, Bronze controls the Realm. There's also the Silver faction who supports Lunars (but they're not very major) and also independents who choose to not be in any of the factions. They were behind the Usurpation, and their actions there mean that unless they put on a fake destiny, the world forgets their actions and presence (barring people with strong minds, who can manage to remember them if they're lucky). Their charms were made by the Maidens, their patrons, and are set in stone, but they make Sidereal Martial Arts to supplement them - pretty much fighting with concepts.

Lunars were pushed out to the edges of Creation, and their caste system got messed up, so now they have three castes. However, Lunars start out Casteless, where they can mimic the other caste's powers at certain times (phases of the moon determine this), but they run the risk of mutating when shapeshifting (the big thing Lunars have), and also can gather permanent Limit, and at higher levels of that become Chimera, which comes with some extra powers and insanity. A casteless gains a caste by being given moonsilver tatoos by the Silver Pact (the big Lunar group), which also give them Shaping protection. They work to protect Creation from the Fae and the like. Oh, and each Lunar Exaltation is bonded to a Solar Exaltation (even if it becomes an Abyssal/Infernal Exaltation).

Dragonblooded/Terrestrials are the most common Exalted, as they don't have Exaltations that go around looking for people. Instead, it's spread by the blood - when dragonblooded have children, they have a chance to exalt as a Terrestrial, greater depending on the concentration of DBs in the family. They currently rule Creation because of the Usurpation, and their Wyld Hunts are a threat to new Solars - see, they believe Solars/Lunars are demons that have got to weak-willed people, a belief that the Gold Faction put into place to help aid the transition from a Celestial (Solar/Sidereal/Lunar) rule to a DB rule. They are the weakest Exalt (still more powerful than many other beings in the setting, mind), and although they do have elemental themes, their big thing is teamwork and cooperation.