General Exalted Discussion Thread X: Playground Cosmic Principle

[Qwertystop]

So, I hear all sorts of things about the awesomeness of Sidereal Martial Arts.

What am I missing? I only see one Martial Arts charmtree in the Sidereal book, and it doesn't seem too exceptional at first glance...

[golentan]

So, I hear all sorts of things about the awesomeness of Sidereal Martial Arts.

What am I missing? I only see one Martial Arts charmtree in the Sidereal book, and it doesn't seem too exceptional at first glance...

Violet Bier of Shadows isn't a sidereal martial art. It's a martial art commonly practiced by sidereals. It's a distinction roughly equivalent to a celestial circle spell known by solars and solar circle sorcery.

Sidereal martial arts are found in a couple of sourcebooks (scroll of the monk, glories of the most high: maidens of destiny, maybe another one or two). It contains things like Obsidian Shards of Infinity style, which prior to errata gave us gems like Creation Slaying Oblivion Kick (a combo that when used atop Mount Meru kills everything on creation's surface simultaneously).

[Sodalite]

I apologize for entering with a question unrelated to the current topic again, but is the sky of Creation every described as containing an element similar to the Milky Way, i.e. a dim streak that appears to be behind the stars? I also apologize if this isn't an appropriate place to pose such questions.

[Plague of Hats]

I apologize for entering with a question unrelated to the current topic again, but is the sky of Creation every described as containing an element similar to the Milky Way, i.e. a dim streak that appears to be behind the stars? I also apologize if this isn't an appropriate place to pose such questions.

There's the Divine Interstice, which could be taken as looking like that, or maybe more like a nebula. It's described in Glories: Maidens and Luna, I think. Probably the former.

Violet Bier of Shadows isn't a sidereal martial art. It's a martial art commonly practiced by sidereals. It's a distinction roughly equivalent to a celestial circle spell known by solars and solar circle sorcery.

Sidereal martial arts are found in a couple of sourcebooks (scroll of the monk, glories of the most high: maidens of destiny, maybe another one or two). It contains things like Obsidian Shards of Infinity style, which prior to errata gave us gems like Creation Slaying Oblivion Kick (a combo that when used atop Mount Meru kills everything on creation's surface simultaneously).

Just to be clear, there's been no errata for existing Sidereal Martial Arts Styles, except for Sapphire Veils of Passion in Glories: Maidens, which received relatively minor tweaking. The rest are just too dysfunctional to have been given any real attention in the major combat errata.

Sidereal styles are supposed to evoke the esoteric, mind-bending martial arts of Old Master and the greatest martial arts myths, including things like the creation myth in Legends of the Wulin, where you transform the lives of people and nations with a perfect punch. Celestial styles are supposed to be high-flying wuxia with flaming tiger-souls around your fist and exploding houses. Terrestrial styles are closer to the understated stuff in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon or Hero, though a bit more consistently "above" that stuff, since you can turn into rock or wreath your fists in flames.

[Kyeudo]

Only 25 constellations and seven other heavenly bodies are described in Creation. We don't even know if they have a north star. Make up what you need.

[Sodalite]

Thank you for your consideration. I am inept at developing my own content, unfortunately, and I do not possess nor can I afford either of those books. This leaves me at something of an uncomfortably position related to this, though I don't expect to receive more help than already have.

[Drascin]

Just to be clear, there's been no errata for existing Sidereal Martial Arts Styles, except for Sapphire Veils of Passion in Glories: Maidens, which received relatively minor tweaking. The rest are just too dysfunctional to have been given any real attention in the major combat errata.

Yep. Currently the Sidereal styles are in a pretty bad place. Most of them are completely dysfunctional, and the only one that works, Sapphire Veils of Passion, is really boring. It's part of the reason why I'm having incredible trouble to homebrew a style. I just have no decent examples to work with.

My suggestio would honestly be that unless you're playing a Sidereal, you just forget Sid styles are a thing. Less headaches that way.

[Qwertystop]

Yep. Currently the Sidereal styles are in a pretty bad place. Most of them are completely dysfunctional, and the only one that works, Sapphire Veils of Passion, is really boring. It's part of the reason why I'm having incredible trouble to homebrew a style. I just have no decent examples to work with.

My suggestio would honestly be that unless you're playing a Sidereal, you just forget Sid styles are a thing. Less headaches that way.

Problem being that I am playing one. Journeys, specifically. So they all suck now?

[Yuki Akuma]

But if he was Exalting as Abyssal, that means he's dead.

You can't Exalt if you're dead. The shard requires two souls in a living body to attach to - it's just a Solar shard switched into reverse.

Abyssals are almost dead when they Exalt - and if you Exalt as anything in that state, you get fully healed. Doesn't have to be an Abyssal shard that heals you.

Problem being that I am playing one. Journeys, specifically. So they all suck now?

Sidereal styles don't suck. They're too good.

The capstone of Obsidian Shards of Infinity, for instance, is "You win. Now choose how you won."

Sapphire Veil of Passion is pretty well balanced. It's just boring.

Sidereal styles are (in-theme) essentially the replacement for Greater Astrological charms. So ask your ST if you can use those, instead~?

[Mr.Bookworm]

Also, I still can't figure out who Miss Chainsaw Throne is. Is she an older version of Princess Charlotte? One of Heaven's Son's forms? Someone else in the Heaven's Reach shard (I haven't read it fully, so it's plausible)?

Hatewheel posted up his art notes for the cover:

Spoiler

Show

Cover Title: Shattered
The cover’s motif is a shattered mirror. The shards spirals around four main sections of broken glass at the center. These four sections are where our four images will be drawn. Each contains a different reflection of the Scarlet Empress. The Empress should be drawn based on the artwork of Melissa Uran.
The four shards depict the following reflections:
The first shard is the fighter pilot. She should have her helmet off, but she should be in her flight suit. Her appearance should match the image of the fighter pilot Empress inside the book. Whoever does the cover needs to have access to that picture if they are not the one to draw it.
The second shard is the space barbarian queen. She is sitting on a rough throne, in a very unladylike pose, one leg up, arms slung over the rests. She is wearing a very low-hung scarlet loincloth with a black battle emblem of some sort. Her chest is wrapped. She has body paint on her stomach, shoulders and neck, and under her eyes. Her hair is long and wild, but still tied up in fashion reminiscent of her classic appearance. There should be a blaster rifle propped against her chair, close to hand, and a rack of autoklaves (mechanical daiklave) attached to the throne itself, that she can draw in an instant.
The third shard is of the Empress as a modern Jane Doe. Short red hair (to her shoulders, or a little less), mid 30s, muscular. She is wearing a sports top, fingerless gloves, perhaps a jacket and baggy pants. She looks like she spends a lot of nights on the streets. She is a fighter, and has a determined look on her face. She is tightening one of her gloves.
The final shard depicts the Empress as a secret agent in disguise as a secretary. She is holding a ledger, and wearing glasses. Her traditional long hair is shortened a bit, and worn up in bun or a stunted genie tail of some sort. Her outfit should be very upscale; if she is playing the part of a secretary, she is working at the highest level of one of the corporations that controls the world.
Optional: Many of the surrounding shards can carry varying depictions of the Empress in various genres. They should include at least one rendition of her in her classic attire.

I don't ever remember an Empress-equivalent getting brought up in Heaven's Reach, but she's from there. I'm pretty sure literally everyone missed the rifle; it blends in with the chair and AUTOKLAVES kind of distract from it.

Problem being that I am playing one. Journeys, specifically. So they all suck now?

Sidereal styles aren't actually necessary until you hit high Essence, where they comprise your elder-level Charmset. You can't even get them until Essence 4.

Also, Sapphire Veils of Passion is balanced with some fixing for 2.5, Charcoal March/Citrine Poxes/Prismatic Arrangement are semi-usable with a lot of tweaking, and the rest should be avoided like the plague. There are a variety of homebrew ones of varying quality floating around, some quite good.

[meschlum]

Problem being that I am playing one. Journeys, specifically. So they all suck now?

Well, it depends. You can go by the writings of this unreliable being, and discover the Mauve Curtains of Indifference, which at least try to do something with their name.

Or you can explore the premise that Sidereals are really Fair Folk, and benefit from their errata too!

Once there was a maiden...

Broken Sutra

Who shattered mechanics with a single charm.

Any being bearing the Broken Sutra becomes unspeakably overpowered relative to others of similar essence, capable of avoiding any but perfect attacks, and inflicting blows that can only be evaded by perfect means. Since such benefits are priceless, these attacks and defenses cost nothing to invoke.

1-dot Oneiromancy
Assumption of Dreams and Passion - the Broken Sutra is a scroll that is made of raw, mindless, lust for power.
Unwanted Obsession Provocation Technique (x3) - people trying to dodge or parry (with a weapon or unarmed) the blows of the user of the Broken Sutra have a penalty of (owner's Essence), which is external at Essence 4+.

1-dot Oneiromancy
Assumption of Dreams and Passion - the Broken Sutra is a scroll that is really made of raw, mindless, lust for power.
Unwanted Obsession Provocation Technique (x3) - people trying to attack or shoot the user of the Broken Sutra with a weapon have a penalty of (owner's Essence), which is external at Essence 4+.

1-dot Oneiromancy
Assumption of Dreams and Passion - the Broken Sutra is a scroll that is utterly made of raw, mindless, lust for power.
Unwanted Obsession Provocation Technique - people trying to attack the user of the Broken Sutra unarmed have a penalty of (owner's Essence), which is external at Essence 4+.
Elegant Muse Attitude (x2) - the user of the Broken Sutra has a bonus of +3 dice (from charms) to all martials arts rolls (for atatck and defense) as well as to dodge rolls, so long as the Sutra is in use.


Mockery of the Heavens

She then went on to have fun and play,

Having discarded all forms of vulnerability to combat, the follower of this style can then relax and perform implausible acrobatics without being bothered by the constraints of gravity.

1-dot Adjuration: "I shall mock gravity as often as I can"
Gossamer Wing Flight - does exactly what it says on the tin.


Recreation of the World

rolling up another really cool Sidereal character.

Given that conflict is pointlessly easy to the followers of this style, all that remains are the opposing poles of awesomeness, granted by the Mockery of the Heavens, and 'Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies'. To avoid the latter annoyance, the Recreation was made. So long as it persists, its owner will not die. Since it's immortal, this can only end well.

1-dot Behemoth
Assumption of Dreams and Passion - the Recreation looks exactly like its owner, and even has the same Abilities, Attributes, Specialties, and Health Levels.
Whatever else - you have 5 mutation points to play with. Go wild.

Whenever the Receration gets killed, you can make another one, or repair the old one via Unshaped Sword Transformation. In the meantime, you're safe and sound in your own isolated bubble of reality, aka a Chancel.


The moral: At the level Sidereal Styles operate on, mechanics are of minimal value.

[Drascin]

Problem being that I am playing one. Journeys, specifically. So they all suck now?

Ah. Then you, my friend, are pretty screwed. See, most SMA styles tend to fall in one of three categories: ridiculously good (such as that tier 1 charm in Scaret Patterned Battlefield Style that makes you capable of moving to anywere you can see as a reflexive move, each tick), terrible for its cost, or does-not-actually-do-much-of-anything-by-mechanics.

So you can try to either get some of the Sid martial arts charms that aren't insane (most of the beginning of Prismatic Arrangement of Creation is not ridiculous, just very good) or non-working, or you can try to homebrew a new style for yourself.

[Hiro Protagonest]

I don't ever remember an Empress-equivalent getting brought up in Heaven's Reach,

Me neither. And after seeing this, I looked through The Frontier and The Exalted again. Nothing.

I'm pretty sure literally everyone missed the rifle; it blends in with the chair and AUTOKLAVES kind of distract from it.

Yeah. Brown chair, brown rifle, super attractive green-eyed redhead in revealing attire. I'm pretty sure everyone missed it.

[aetherialDawn]

So... I've heard mention of the Gunstar, of Heaven's Reach, and of Burn Legend.

Where, oh where, is Modern Exalted?

Speaking of Burn Legend... It honestly seems to me to be some wonderful mixture of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in fluff, Street Fighter in intent and mechanics, and Exalted in details.

[golentan]

So... I've heard mention of the Gunstar, of Heaven's Reach, and of Burn Legend.

Where, oh where, is Modern Exalted?

Speaking of Burn Legend... It honestly seems to me to be some wonderful mixture of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in fluff, Street Fighter in intent and mechanics, and Exalted in details.

Exalted modern is in there. It's just not as good as Gunstar.

Though, uh... mortals seem to be winning in it. Temporarily at least. Go them?

[Hiro Protagonest]

So... I've heard mention of the Gunstar, of Heaven's Reach, and of Burn Legend.

Where, oh where, is Modern Exalted?

Speaking of Burn Legend... It honestly seems to me to be some wonderful mixture of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in fluff, Street Fighter in intent and mechanics, and Exalted in details.

Eh, Modern is okay. The other three Shards are more interesting to me.

[horngeek]

Actually… would anyone like to run a Burn Legen game?

[golentan]

Actually… would anyone like to run a Burn Legen game?

It's the only setting which holds 0 interest for me. Sorry.

[Turalisj]

Actually… would anyone like to run a Burn Legen game?

Already running, but it's on Rpol.net (Which is the only place I will run games). And it's rather full right now, with 14 players. I need a co-ST to stat NPCs up and help run fights >.<'

[horngeek]

Ah.

My main problem with Rpol is I'd probably forget to check it.

EDIT: I also want to play in Modern.

[Turalisj]

You don't use bookmarks/favorites?

And there's a modern game that's going to be started up on Rpol.net. Plus I'm going to at some point be running the college version of my highschool Exalted game.

[Ganurath]

And there's a modern game that's going to be started up on Rpol.net.

To paraphrase the meme: Links or it didn't happen.

[Yuki Akuma]

You don't use bookmarks/favorites?

I have to same problem as horngeek - Rpol is not a place I ever visit, so, even if I bookmark it, I won't think to check the game.

[Tavar]

You don't use bookmarks/favorites?

And there's a modern game that's going to be started up on Rpol.net. Plus I'm going to at some point be running the college version of my highschool Exalted game.

Last time I did Rpol, it kept doing funky things with my bookmarks, and navigating the site was like getting my wisdom teeth taken out.

[AmberVael]

I have question guys- where can I find more information on Hegra? I've found her hearthstones in Broken Winged Crane, information about her two defined souls and her general description in MoCD: Malfeas, and I did scrape up some interesting tidbits from the Ink Monkeys stuff on infernal geomancy (the list of demesne and manse traits was really helpful, plus there were a few more hearthstones).

Is there stuff anywhere else? Maybe something else from Ink Monkeys? Possibly some First Edition stuff?

Also, anything on Elloge could be cool too.

[Tavar]

Most information on the Yozis comes from Second edition, and there it's mostly concentrated in CoCD: Malfeas, Infernals, Broken Winged Crane, and the Ink Monkeys. If you can't find it there, it likely doesn't exist.

[Lix Lorn]

It's the only setting which holds 0 interest for me. Sorry.

See, the other shards take some of exalted's cosmology and most of its rules.
Burn legend takes the tiniest fragments of cosmology, and has its own rules.

I'm just not sure what makes it exalted, other than random namedrops.

Ah.

My main problem with Rpol is I'd probably forget to check it.

EDIT: I also want to play in Modern.

I am also interested in Modern, especially if it uses our world. But either way.

I have to same problem as horngeek - Rpol is not a place I ever visit, so, even if I bookmark it, I won't think to check the game.

I put my RPol games in my webcomics folder, since I open all that.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Alright, so I guess I'm finally going to make that Infernal Charm for shapeshifting.

Stepping on Lunars' Toes (Even More)
Cost: --; Mins: Essence 3
Keywords: Heretical, Shaping?
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisites: By Rage Recast, Loom-Snarling Deception

Taking the shapechanging abilities of Malfeas, the Infernal carefully uses them in tandem with the deception of the Ebon Dragon.

This Charm permanently enhances Loom-Snarling Deception. It no longer carries the Illusion keyword. The appearance-changing illusion is replaced by true shapeshifting, a Shaping effect, as the Infernal is truly the form he has taken on. Up to four points in positive Mutations (not including purely cosmetic Mutations such as Skin/Hair Color, which are free) may be taken with any form.


I'm making this mostly because I don't want to play a Lunar. The animal powers... just don't appeal much to me. I basically just want Twin-Faced Hero.

[The_Snark]

Is there stuff anywhere else? Maybe something else from Ink Monkeys? Possibly some First Edition stuff?

Also, anything on Elloge could be cool too.

The Ink Monkeys wrote a bit of description for several of the Yozis outside the primary five, which can be seen here. Not sure if you've seen that already.

Aside from that, nothing I'm aware of.

[AmberVael]

The Ink Monkeys wrote a bit of description for several of the Yozis outside the primary five, which can be seen here. Not sure if you've seen that already.

Aside from that, nothing I'm aware of.

I had not in fact seen that! Thank you.

I read about Geomancy in the Ink Monkey Compendium, and that section wasn't there.