General Exalted Discussion XVI: Chej Kejak, Pokegod Trainer!

[Necroticplague]

What is oneiromancy? Fair Folk charms? If so, can only Fair Folk, Eclipses and Moonshadows learn them

Actually, it's an Artifact. In this case, a one-dot artifact. You need to be a fair folk to make it, but anyone else can use it once they get their hands on it.

[golentan]

Actually, it's an Artifact. In this case, a one-dot artifact. You need to be a fair folk to make it, but anyone else can use it once they get their hands on it.

Don't do it.

Really, don't. Meschlum's tinkering almost turned me against fair-folk and their workings entirely. Just ignore him from the moment you see the word "Oneiromancy" or other mechanical terms for the Raksha.

[Recaiden]

Embrace the raksha mechanics.

It might be that anyone can learn fair-folk charms. Up to your storyteller.
Any Lunar can learn them for sure, and there's a subset that Sidereal can always learn.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Unless you're playing as Ascetic, you can't avoid it. The guild has their finger in every pie that is traded across borders except in the realm, where they are banned from direct business by royal decree and still do a fair amount of trade with partners through neutral ports. Sure, you can avoid drugs and slaves and their less savory pillars, but they have their hands in bakeries and grain, in firedust, weapons, animals, spices, cloth, and so much more.

Indeed. It is impossible to avoid the guild, you either have to work with them or destroy them at every turn.

[Dazhbug]

You know, I've been bouncing ideas around just for idle fancy lately, but don't have solid familiarity with Grace magic, soooooo: meschlum meschlum meschlum!

I was thinking about armor, but not just any armor; my TAW-built Lunar lady has a preference for not actually wearing anything physical, but DOES have a love of jewelry and the like. She originally picked up Discrete Essence Armor in the past, but I'm not a huge fan of the flavor there, and would be interested in something more Wyld. She's way social-fu, so rather than actual armor it could just be glamour that makes people loathe to attack or the like (actually the emotional effect perks my ears moreso than boring old armor, heh).

Just for the hell of the thought experiment, and another example to cross-check with while I'm reading GWM.

[meschlum]

What is oneiromancy? Fair Folk charms? If so, can only Fair Folk, Eclipses and Moonshadows learn them

Oneiromancy is Fair Folk Grace Magic, and can be used by nearly everyone.

The type I described is Outward-Facing Oneiromancy, which needs to be 'charged' by someone (Fair Folk, Lunar, Sidereal, Eclipse, Moonshadow, Fiend, Fey-Blood, person who's made a deal with the Raksha) and then keeps on working for a full season (at 1 dot). So a Fair Folk ally prepares the Satchel or Cord, and it works for whoever holds on to it without any special requirements.

If you don't want to depend on the Raksha (or Lunar / Sidereal / whatever), you just need to have a Grace, which costs 1 bp at character creation. Then you can commit motes to it and it's really yours. You also need to have some gossamer to feed to the thing every season, but there are other sorts of Grace Magic that take care of that.


The other types of Grace magic are:

Inward-Facing Oneiromancy: affect you rather than the environment, require that you have a Grace (and seasonal gossamer) and commit motes to work at all.

Adjuration: affect you, require committed motes and a Grace (no Gossamer) to work, can be shared with others who also have Graces and awakened essence.

Behemoth: living (sort of) minions, are typically more powerful and much more loyal if you commit motes to them (which also requires a Grace).


Graces are handy little quasi-artifacts that Fair Folk can make for people, representing their virtues. Having one stolen or destroyed is bad news, but Exalts can recover. Making one requires a Charm that Raksha have (noble Diplomats, mainly), which can also be learned by Fey-bloods, Lunars, Eclipses, Moonshadows and Fiends.


If you don't want to involve the Fair Folk in the matter, it's a guideline of what is possible in terms of fluff and power, should you use other methods.

[meschlum]

Don't do it.

Really, don't. Meschlum's tinkering almost turned me against fair-folk and their workings entirely. Just ignore him from the moment you see the word "Oneiromancy" or other mechanical terms for the Raksha.

At least the fluff is fun, I hope!

You know, I've been bouncing ideas around just for idle fancy lately, but don't have solid familiarity with Grace magic, soooooo: meschlum meschlum meschlum!

I was thinking about armor, but not just any armor; my TAW-built Lunar lady has a preference for not actually wearing anything physical, but DOES have a love of jewelry and the like. She originally picked up Discrete Essence Armor in the past, but I'm not a huge fan of the flavor there, and would be interested in something more Wyld. She's way social-fu, so rather than actual armor it could just be glamour that makes people loathe to attack or the like (actually the emotional effect perks my ears moreso than boring old armor, heh).

Just for the hell of the thought experiment, and another example to cross-check with while I'm reading GWM.

How high do you want to go? Soak in the 40/40 range is feasible, and one can get to around +10 DV fairly easily, if we're talking boring numbers.

Otherwise, to the fluff-mobile!

Pendant of Distraction

Upon being taught the tale of Laashe, the Raksha learned that Luna was indeed terrible, and were taught again that mere force would fail before craft. Wrapping the echoes of this story in dreams and silver, their fear and wonder awoke as the Pendant, a glittering emerald on a chain of frozen moonlight. For decades this plaything of love and terror was wielded in the battles of the Fair Folk, going from court to court to the beat of Gaea's tides.

Then it was lost to Creation, as so many things are, and made lesser thereby - a jewel beyond compare, still, but one whose mystery might be pierced. From rogue to merchant to prince to gambler to hero, the Pendant was worn and admired in many places. Whether its brief owners knew of its properties or not - and some certainly did - its purpose was to adorn and draw the eye, and no enchantment was needed there. Finally, it fell into the hands of one of Luna's Chosen, and in memory of that early moment of primeval fright, surrendered its secrets unstintingly. Thus are the properties of the Pendant better known than they might otherwise be, at least within the circles loyal to the old and proper ways.

To wake the Pendant, one need but dance with it under Luna's eye while wrapped in nothing but a wisp of gossamer. The Pendant prefers to have mortals witness this, but it is not strictly required. As its power comes to the fore, the Pendant weaves the desire and secrecy into itself, so that its glittering reminds those who see it of all they have wished for, loved, and lost. Striking someone under the Pendant's aegis is not, technically, impossible, but fraught with regret and sorrow. What the Pendant does not reveal is that while its deceptions or desire and delight are not, strictly, limited to sight alone, they take a fraction of an instant to work. Archers, trained to fire at distance before they recognize what they aim for, have been known to cast off the Pendant's seduction as a result.

Mechanics
1-dot Oneiromancy
Assumption of Dreams and Passion - the Pendant is extremely desirable and attractive.
Unwanted Obsession Provocation Technique (x3): attacks on the Pendant wearer that rely on Martial Arts, Melee, or Thorwn suffer a penalty equal to its lorekeeper's Essence. At Essence 4+, this is an external penalty.


Glittering Bracers

The Fair Folk are the most beautiful beings in existence, and deserve every courtesy for it. The Bracers are a bauble cast upon the shores of Creation with which the Raksha seek to teach mortals and their masters the wonders of the Wyld. Woven from glory and reassurance, when empowered they will move of their own to deflect incoming blows - save those of foul cold iron, whose spite and ugliness warps and twists all it comes near.

Once their owner sheds blood upon the Bracers, reciting the names of the ten people they fear most mixed with those of the ten people they most adore, the Bracers refuse to allow any further harm to occur while they are worn, moving themselves and their wearer in an elegant dance of evasion and deflection. This extends beyond merely physical aspects, as the brightness of the Bracers is so enticing that large groups find it extremely difficult to work against their wearer - someone in the crowd will always be distracted, or suggest a more plausible threat.

Mechanics
1-dot Oneiromancy
Assumption of Dreams and Passion - the Bracers are the manifestation of all that shines.
Untouchable Performer Technique - attempts to organize people against the Bracer's owner will fail
Imposition of Law (x2) - while dancing, the wearer of the bracers can dodge any attack, and her martial arts moves are enhanced so that she can easily strike others while avoiding their blows. Non Charm or cold iron based attacks are automatically dodged or parried.
Rarefied Air of Inevitable Victory - the light contained within the Bracers protect their owner even when immobile, granting +1 DV


Tiger Eye Ring

Once upon a time, a beast came from the Wyld and sought to play with humanity. The first mortals it met struck it with fire and steel, so it played that game with them, and left when the last had been sliced apart and burned to ash. Then it met a monk who wrapped the beast in prayers and wisdom, so it stayed still for a while. But after a week the monk went to sleep, and the beast grew bored. The cave where the two meditated now bears remarkable prayers engraved in the walls with the monk's bones. Then it met a king who taught it all he knew, and the beast taught him in turn all the ways it had been taught to break mortal bodies.

At last, the beast met a child who wanted to play with it, and they ran wild through the summer, dreaming of glory and destruction. But seasons turn in Creation, and its laws threateened to steal the child away. So the beast changed the rules, as it had so often when playing, and became a part of the child. No longer could they be parted, and no more would Creation's tools - of fire, steel, claw, and stone - be a threat.

Did the child grow older? Did the beast return to the Wyld to teach its companions? Did they wander together into a new tale?

The Fair Folk sometimes leave Tiger Eye Rings at the border of Creation, waiting for another such child. Some daring Creation-born collect them and learn to use them, looking no further than the invulnerability they grant, not caring for the Ring's purpose.

Mechanics
1-dot Behemoth
Assumption of the Person's Heart - while it manifests as a ring to most, the Tiger Eye Ring's playmate will see it as a full fledged tiger. As will those who anger it - briefly.
Assumption of Tiger Form - the Tiger Eye ring has a multitude of tiger motifs on it, when it isn't simply fully manifested.
Bastion of the Self - the Tiger Eye Ring is nearly indestructible, and shares this property with its wearer. Any charm or cold iron boosted attacks still face a boost of Essence to DV or relevant dice pools.

For more dots, you can stack on other fun effects, of course. With high enough Essence (or an Oneiromancy granting Bestial Transformation) you can even become immune to aging, for instance. Or get Opalescent Gossamer Raiment for another Essence + 2 in natural soak (and lots of extra soak if the behemoth is 3+ dots). Though a 2-dot version that can summon fish to eat could be more fun. Also, you can take Surpassing Excellence instead of Tiger Form for a few more defensive dice, but that's numbers over fluff.


Invulnerable Sash

The Fair Folk view Creation through the lens of beauty rather than efficiency, and so the Sashes were created for those times when battle was needed. Armor is rarely elegant, and Creation's styles conceal far more of the wearer than is appropriate among Raksha. A Sash solves these problems with ease, being made of nigh indestructible dreams and infused with dreams of protection and evasion.

While Sashes are not technically artifacts, the protection they provide is truly impressive, and their manufacture calls for countless dreams and marvels - so few were ever made, and mortal depredations mean that many of those can be found in Creation. There, these treasures are heirlooms of considerable value, if often hidden to avoid theft. While the person wearing a Sash may be nearly impossible to harm, the same is not true of their friends.

Mechanics
Gossamer Full Plate, ideally exceptional for extra soak, gives you 13/13 soak to start with, with no mobility or fatigue penalties. Mix in exceptional Form Chitin, and that's an extra +7/+7 for no penalties unless you get in shaping combat. Add a Translucent Dream, and you have an automatic wyld die for defense, plus foes need to spend willpower and get penalties if they try to hurt you (up to 4 dice).



So at Essence 2, you are immune to non-Charm or cold iron powered damage (and can parry or dodge all attacks anyway). Against cold iron, you have +2 DV and a bonus die, soak 13/13 and opponents get a 3-die internal penalty (assuming a 1 die Translucent Dream), so it's about +4 DV. Against charms, you have an extra +1 DV.

Essence 3 is +3 DV and a 4-die internal penalty against cold iron, with another +1 against Charms.

Essence 4 is +4 DV and a -4 die external penalty plus a bonus wyld die and a penalty wyld die, so effectively +9 DV against cold iron (+10 vs. Charms).


And there's more that could be stacked on, if needed.

[Dazhbug]

< Ridiculous awesomeness! >

Woo! Yeah, I'm definitely not shooting for numbers; it's very much a fluff thing. I love the idea of the tiger ring, and it could be themed whichever-which way (she's a deep Jungle sort of lunar).

Thanks!

[ChaosArchon]

So I too am building a raksha and was wondering how many Grace charm effects can be used in the various Raskha artifacts (behemoths, oneiromancy, abjurations, and treasures). Like how many effects can a 1 dot treasure have for instance? Would it only get a minor magical effect and mortal arms traits, or could a raskha 1 dot treasure sword have the stats of a daiklaive and light itself on fire for instance. This is just a broad question but I'm just curious what the effects I can put on various artifacts are given I have a raskha with Artifact 5 (so 15pts of artifacts I believe, with at most 1 5dot and 5 1dots) and want to make sure I'm not making the artifacts too weak, or too strong.

[meschlum]

So I too am building a raksha and was wondering how many Grace charm effects can be used in the various Raskha artifacts (behemoths, oneiromancy, abjurations, and treasures). Like how many effects can a 1 dot treasure have for instance? Would it only get a minor magical effect and mortal arms traits, or could a raskha 1 dot treasure sword have the stats of a daiklaive and light itself on fire for instance. This is just a broad question but I'm just curious what the effects I can put on various artifacts are given I have a raskha with Artifact 5 (so 15pts of artifacts I believe, with at most 1 5dot and 5 1dots) and want to make sure I'm not making the artifacts too weak, or too strong.

The first answer is: Check with your ST - 5 dots in the Artifact background (and enough Retinue and Gossamer to power them) can make you a massive threat to the setting. Which reflects what 5 dots in a background should mean in many cases (5 dots of Influence theoretically lets you be one of the movers and shakers for an entire direction), but it's not what people usually expect from an artifact background.

It seems my work elsewhere was preserved (happy!), and you can look here for guidelines too.

On to the next answer, with numbers!

Grace Magic falls into four (five) categories.

- Oneiromancy (Inward and Outward), with point values between 10 (1 dot) and 18 (five dots).

Oneiromancies always have an Assumption form, with limits on the allowed forms based on the numer of dots

Point costs are listed in the errata, under Glamour (Inward or Outward), and go from 1 to 12 points

So an Oneiromancy can have between 1 and 17 powers

Inward facing Oneiromancies only work on you, and require you to have a grace and commit motes

Outward facing Oneiromancies work on people nearby (possibly including you), and someone else can power them for you

- Adjuration, with point values between 2 (1 dot) and 8 (5 dots)

Point costs are listed in the errata, under Mutation, and go from 1 to 6 points. Normal mutations cannot be granted by adjurations post-errata. Use Assumption of Bestial Form instead.

So an Adjuration can have between 1 and 8 powers

Adjurations work on anyone who swears to them (needing access to the Adjuration object) and then stay on until the oath is complete. So you can share them with anyone else who has a grace and will commit the motes

- Behemoth, with point values between 6 (1 dot) and 15 (5 dots)

Point costs are listed in the errata, under Mutation, as well as 'normal' mutations, and go from 1 to 6 points

The book and errata are unclear as to whether a behemoth must have an Assumption charm. I tend to assume so, but it's not explicitly stated.

So a behemoth can have between 1 and 15 powers

Behemoths are independent creatures that need to be sustained by someone with a grace and commited motes, but it doesn't need to be you. Their power reflects that of the person who is committing motes, though

- Treasure, which does not use point values

A Wyld Treasure is a normal Exalted artifact, without magical material properties and costnig as much as the artifact.

That's usually 1-2 powers, some of them bigger at higher dot values

You need to commit the motes, but don't get any special material bonuses or added costs.

[Dazhbug]

I could use some serious assistance about building a social-fu Lunar, using Revlid's TAW re-write; that said, in the general case a bit more enlightenment when it comes to 2.5E social combat would be nice to have. I feel like I have physical combat fairly well understood, but I'm floundering more than a little putting together a silver-tongued seducer.

The specific character is this gal here (delve into backstory at your own risk!):

Spoiler: Butterfly's Wing Heralds the Storm

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Name: Butterfly's Wing Heralds the Storm
Caste: Changing Moon
Anima: A chaotic, silvery-iridescent swarm of butterflies twist and swirl about a great banyan tree.

Motivation: To forge new connections within the web of Creation, and assist (force?) its peoples to live in harmony with the world and each other.

Appearance:

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Height: 5'6”
Build: Fit and trim, with a classical “hourglass” figure
Concept: Fluttershy meets Ra's al Ghul

Appearance: The girl who was to become Butterfly was a typical child of the rainforest; brown of skin and black of hair, always just on the edge of getting enough to eat. Her hair cascaded to her waist in thick unwashed ropes, and her skin was criss-crossed with the scars and welts left by scrapes, falls, jungles parasites, and the occasional run-in with a larger predator or the dying thrashes of prey beasts. Despite her rather hard life, her smiling eyes (so dark brown they were nearly black) and the flash of her grin shone through the grime coating her face.

With Exaltation fled her malnourishment, and she became the very manifestation of the jungle's fertile embrace. She had always been well loved, but her transcendent, near-alien beauty brought those she had called tribe quickly under her loving sway. Even the jungle seemed entranced with her shimmering grace and charm, the very trees bowing to her radiant, sharp-toothed smile. Her's is the domain of light and shadow beneath the canopy, and she embodies the rich and violent passions of the jungle.

In her lies a deep and abiding love of Creation, and her actions resonate her compassion and love of life; in turn, she expects (and sometimes demands) the love of the world in return. Though soft-spoken she is always heard, for every eye is turned upon her. She glories in love, accentuating her natural charms with only the barest of embellishments; often she goes unveiled in her native realm. Abroad, she is willing to clothe herself, if only to hint and tease the eye. She is fond of jewelry and wears earrings, rings, and studs crafted from shining metals and the hardest jungle woods. Frequently she goes clothed in jungle plants, or subsumes her human form into a shifting shape of blooming vines which twist and bend in semblance of her true form.

Personality notes:

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- Butterfly thrives on her connection to others, and is less than likely to be found on her own if there are people about. Although she frequently seeks to be the center of attention, she is content to watch and be quietly noticed, keeping the shifting scene wholly within her loving sight.
- Difficult to rouse to anger, within her there yet lies a deep well of fury; the might of nature red in tooth and thorn. She has a long memory, but will generally seek to seduce and charm her enemies rather than directly confront them. In the final extremity, she will suborn their very will and submerse them in love for her.
- Patient and cunning; she looks before she leaps, and seeks out all connections in a given situation and how they will interact.
- Seeks to incorporate the many into the whole; she will re-forge connections and weave ties between differing sides.
- Survival means change, and only those who can adapt are worthy to live.

Background:

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She had forgotten her name, though the evening breeze and the scurrying eyes of the underbrush whispered that it was not lost. She dreamed of memory, of a time when she was but a youth and kept a garden plot to help feed her family, and a hive of bees to allow them the sweet luxury of honey and beeswax to trade. She had moved out, she vaguely recalled, to her own home, and she had filled it with green and growing things and opened it to the sound of birdcalls. Her village had ever fought the surrounding jungles, determined to wrest from it their small existence; it was she who asked why. It was that dark-skinned girl, tinged green, who had walked among the local gods and charmed them with sweet words and the hypnotic light of the Moon, and who had shown the villagers how to weave the plants of the forest into organic shelters, and to train the local beasts of the woods.

Some few others of silver light had come to her, telling her of the terrible burden of their kind who lived by the light of the Moon. Much of their talk she dismissed as noise, but the lesson of Luna's guardianship over Creation rang true to her ears, and so she sent the silver ones away, vowing that she had heard their message and would endeavor always to protect the Creation of Gaia. Understanding came, of Creation as a living thing, each creature and plant an organelle in the vast web that had been pulled from the jaws of un-Reality. She meditated on the folly of mortalkind, that they attempted to place themselves above and outside of the web of Creation, and knew then her purpose. Like the white cells of her blood, would she devour the infections of the world, and restore connections throughout Creation that had been severed.

Recently, she had expanded her claim to border the territory of the old spirit who called himself Ten-Masks Canny; between them had flowed information, understanding, and commitment to live in symbiotic relationship. Then had come the infection, the assault of mortals who tore at the flesh of the jungle without understanding that their struggle merely nourished the soil and the scavengers. She had hidden herself, pulling her villagers and presence back to the core of her territory, knowing survival demanded it. As the land healed itself, she spread her senses into the new scar-tissue left in the mortals' wake. Blessing the passing of the elder silver, she seeks understanding and to bind the waiting land (and its creatures) to the will of Creation.

Sorcery Rites:

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Humility - Growing up with the bare end of nothing, forced to confront the inevitable defeat by the jungle itself.
Tutelage - Tens Mask Canny
Journey - Leaving her home territory for the first time
Fear - Taming the guardian of Wild's Calling
Sacrifice - Her name

Attributes

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Primary Social: 9
Secondary Physical: 7
Tertiary Mental: 5
[Note: (C)aste and (F)avoured tags, for clarity.]

Physical:
Strength ●●
Dexterity ●●●●●
(F) Stamina ●●●

Social:
(C) Charisma ●●●●
(C) Manipulation ●●●
(C) Appearance ●●●●●

Mental:
(F) Perception ●●
Intelligence ●●●●
Wits ●●●

Abilities

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[Note: (F)avoured tags, for clarity.]
(Specializations +; 4 free specializations)
Total without BP/XP: 25

Archery
Martial Arts ●●●●● (SO MANY TENTACLES +●)
Melee
Thrown
War

Integrity ●●●●● (We're ALL mad here. Tea? +●●)
(F) Performance ●●● (All eyes upon her +●)
Presence ●●●●●
Resistance
Survival ●●

Craft
Investigate
Lore
Medicine
(F) Occult ●●●●

Athletics
Awareness
Dodge
Larceny
Stealth

Bureaucracy
Linguistics ●
Ride
Sail
(F) Socialize

Backgrounds, Artifacts and Equipment:

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Backgrounds:
Tattoo Artifact ●● (Reinforced Breastplate)
Cult ●● (Tribe of the Growing Banyan)
Manse ●● (Jewel of Lawgiver's Authority, Oadenol's Codex p.106)
Heart's Blood ●

Artifacts and Equipment:
Tattoo Artifact: Moonsilver Tattoo Reinforced Breastplate Web of Creation

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Once she had appeared in the cave of Ten-Masks uninvited, attempting to peek into the realm of dreams where he adventured in slumber. The elder woke nigh-instantly, and after his threats and grumblings had washed over her smiling face without impact he relented. The elder cautioned her that she had given killing insult to many, and would be in dire straights had he wished her dead. In exchange for her vow to practice more caution, he gifted her with a shining tattoo of moonsilver which splashed angular about her chest and shoulders like spider's web glistening in the morning mists.

Manse: Wild's Calling
Stone: Jewel of Lawgiver's Authority (socketed in )

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[4 CP Base]
- Manse Flaw: Minimally Habitable (+2 CP)
- Guardian
- Sympathetic Dream Link
- Well Flavoured Aspect

The Great Banyan, it is called by the tribe, and Loving Embrace of the Forest. To her it is Wild's Calling, and stands both as her roots, her heart, and her people's shield. They may rest peacefully among its branches, and live among its roots and cathedral-vines. By the light of the moon, the whispers from its branches are carried to her on the winds of dreams, and she commands respect, authority, and unmitigated love in the heart of her territory, the forest itself coming to her aid.

As the seed she planted grew into a mighty tree, so did its secret heart grow into a mighty force of nature. The tribe calls it Yuan-Sille, the Fanged Heart. It appears as an enormous jungle cat, made entirely of interwoven roots and vines; in the upper branches of Wild's Calling it slumbers until some need calls it to protect the villagers or the great tree itself. Then, it explodes into a terrifying blur of thorn and claw and wing (if needed; not all threats creep on the ground), and blood soaks the roots of the banyan.

At the deepest heart of the banyan, where not even the villagers are allowed to tread, sits a stone and a quiet pool. A ray of brilliant moonlight penetrates from above no matter the weather, and upon the stone is written a single name.

Cult: Tribe of the Growing Banyan

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”The Tribe” was all they had ever referred to themselves as, in the time before She took them into her embrace. A group of mortals eeking out an existence in the deep jungle, constantly at war with the rainforest as it sought to reclaim their small cleared fields, to fell them with illness and predator. Stubborn in their freedom and isolation as any mortals ever are, they had struck a balance with the forest as an outmatched tug-of-war player might brace against a stone and so teeter on the brink of defeat.

She had always been a quiet girl, more interested in the jungle in which her tribe lived than anything else. She kept plants, set out feeders for birds, and nursed a succession of slightly-more-terrifying-than-the-last sick creatures back to health. Oh, she helped with the hunting, and with cutting back the boundaries of the forest before it could overtake their little collection of huts; but she welcomed the forest where her tribe fought back against it. In her defiance of civilization's struggle against the thorny wilds, she caught the attention of the Huntress and so drawn into the jungle. There the Moon offered her the love of the wild places, and she loved back.

Upon her return, the tribe gathered about her in awe; with her calmly stalked the wild panther, and about her head butterflies formed a living crown and the trees themselves whispered adulation. She spoke to them, proclaiming a new life for the tribe, a life as one with the forest and in harmony with the green and growing Creation which surrounded them. She promised them her protection, and asked only that they accept the change which she would nurture within them. The tribe elders proclaimed her a living goddess; the least gods of their village and of civilization that their forefathers had brought with them were swayed by her beauty and the power of her exaltation. They fell to their knees as one, but she commanded them to arise; she sought only their love, she said, not their worship.

It was only much later that she reflected on how thin and vague was the boundary between the two.

In covenant with her tribe, she planted a single seed at the center of the village. Over the next fortnight, the seed sprouted into a massive over-arching banyan tree, embracing the town and its inhabitants in leafy bowers. Slowly too, the villagers changed; their diets changed, and their senses grew keener as they adapted to life as a part of the jungle, not opposed to it. Today, the tribe lives in the very branches of the tree as well as on the ground below, and ranges wide through her territory.

Resources: X

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From the forest all things came, and to the forest all things were returned. When she struck out to investigate the fall of Ten-Masks Canny, she left with naught but herself and her shining adornments and the blessing of her land.
List of items: A staff of living wood, and a cloak of dappled and rain-washed green

Charms

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Strength


Dexterity
First Dexterity Excellency

Stamina
Hybrid Nue Transformation
Change-Accepting Adaptation

Charisma
First Charisma Excellency

Appearance
Second Appearance Excellency
World's Edge Aesthetics
Elegance Beyond Imagining

Perception


Intelligence
Second Intelligence Excellency
Migrating Tongue Panglossia

Wits

Spoiler: Future Charm Selection

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Spells:

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Mutations:

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General Library

Combat Stats:

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Join Combat: 3

Attacks:

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Hands:
Acc: 12 [(((Dex+Martial Arts)+1)+Any other dice bonuses)] | Damage: 2B [Str+0B] | Parry DV: 7 [(((Dex+Martial Arts+Specialties)+2)= X /2 round up) = Base + Modifiers] | Rate: 3

Feet:
Acc: 11 [(((Dex+Martial Arts)+0)+Any other dice bonuses)] | Damage: 5B [Str+3B] | Parry DV: 5 [(((Dex+Martial Arts+Specialties)-2)= X /2 round up) = Base + Modifiers] | Rate: 2

Clinch:
Acc: 11 [(((Dex+Martial Arts)+0)+Any other dice bonuses)] | Damage: 2B [Str+0B] | Parry DV: - | Rate: 1

Dodge DV: 4 [((((Dex+Ability)+Essence)+Bonus Dice From Equipment) = X /2 round up) = Base + Modifiers]

Notes on common effects:


Permanent Charms


Soak:
Bashing: 12B (9B from armor) [((Stamina+Armour)+Any other Modifiers)]
Lethal: 12L (10L from armor) [(((Stamina /2)+Armour)+Any other Modifiers)]
Aggravated: 10A (from armor) [Armour+Any other Modifiers)]

Hardness:
Bashing: 8B [Highest value from any source]
Lethal: 8L [Highest value from any source]
Aggravated: 8A [Highest value from any source]

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
X [ ]
D [ ]
(Note: )

Mental Defenses:
Dodge MDV: 9 (10 v. UMI) [((((Willpower+Integrity)+Relevant Specialty)+Essence)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round down) + Any other bonuses.]
Charisma Parry MDV: 5
>Presence: 5 [(((Charisma+Presence)+Relevant Specialty)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round up) + Any other bonuses.]
>Performance: 4 (4) [(((Charisma+Performance)+Relevant Specialty)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round up) + Any other bonuses.]
Manipulation Parry MDV: 4
>Presence: 4 [(((Manipulation+Presence)+Relevant Specialty)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round up) + Any other bonuses.]
>Performance: 3 (4) [(((Manipulation+Performance)+Relevant Specialty)+Any other dice modifiers) /2 round up) + Any other bonuses.]

Virtues:
Compassion ●●●●●
Conviction ●●●
Temperance ●
Valor ●●

(TAW Lunars do not have a Virtue Flaw, instead expressing Lunacy through their intimacies.)

Intimacies:
+Creation (Love, protection)
+Connections between life (to be seeded, nurtured and protected)
+Wild's Calling (MY territory, responsibility, great affection)
+Tribe of the Growing Banyan (My people, responsibility, affection)
+Solar Bond (MINE) [Unactivated]
+Ten Masks Canny(Curiosity, acceptance, mutual understanding)
+Lunar Exalted(Expectation of mutual understanding)
+Other Exalted(Sympathy, compassion, reforging of connections to Creation)
-The Wyld(to be bound within the web of Creation)
-Shadowlands(as The Wyld)
-Raksha(destroyers of connections, to be pitied and reformed)
-Destroyers of connections(see above)
-Inability to adapt(pitied if unable, contempt if unwilling)

Languages:
Forest Tongue (Tribal Dialect)
Old Realm

Willpower: ●●●●● ●●●●●

Essence:
Permanent: ●●●
Personal: 23 (23) [Permanent Essence+(Willpower x2)]
Peripheral: 39 (43) [4/Breastplate] [(((Permanent Essence x4)+Willpower x2)+sum of Virtues]

Regen: +1 WP/morning (Cult), +10/+14 motes/hour (Cult+Manse).

Bonus Points and XP:

Spoiler

Show

Bonus Points:
Willpower ->10 = 5
Essence 2->3 = 7
Intelligence 3->4 = 3
Compassion 3->5 = 2

Total: 1/18 | Flaws:

Experience Points. Spent: 0 | Left: 0 | Total: 0

If she seems familiar, I've re-worked her a couple of times for different games, but nothing that's really gotten off the ground. Her current incarnation looks to be heading deep into the Wyld, and the intention would be to pick up a decent bit of sorcery in addition to the social-fu; she's not built to be a frontline combatant in the slightest, and has more of an emphasis on shaping hearts and minds (and keeping ours from being Shaped!). Without a solid idea of where to start with a social-fu build, I opted to go with a fairly traditional sort of Appearance boosting setup with the twin charms (very similar to a Pretty Kitty), and am toying with eeking out some points to put into Socialize. I'm certainly not sold on it though, hence coming here to ask for a touch of advice!

[Aquatosic]

Did you get extra bonus points, because I am working on creating my first ever character for this game, and I have no ideas how you were able to get stats that high right from the start. Did you take on flaws or something? Is that even a mechanic in Exalted?

[ChaosArchon]

Meschlum I just wanted to thank you for helping me with the Grace magic, I had fun making my artifacts and in part that's cuz you made it easier to learn. So thanks

[Dazhbug]

Did you get extra bonus points, because I am working on creating my first ever character for this game, and I have no ideas how you were able to get stats that high right from the start. Did you take on flaws or something? Is that even a mechanic in Exalted?

I used TAW creation rules rather than the standard Lunar rules, but beyond that no, no extra points. Remember that you start with a dot in all your attributes, so you don't have to buy it!

A lot of games houserule Lunar creation to bring it a bit more up to par with Solars, especially in a mixed game.

[meschlum]

Meschlum I just wanted to thank you for helping me with the Grace magic, I had fun making my artifacts and in part that's cuz you made it easier to learn. So thanks

A pleasure!

I realized I forgot one category of Grace Magic:

- Chancels, which have between 3 and 20 waypoints

At 6 or more waypoints, you can make a Freehold (1-dot, but that only affects the number of cysts a freehold can create)

At 10 or more waypoints, you can technically create an Unshaped

In any case, you get a huge Wyld territory you can modify at will, as well as respire motes in. Plus extra exits within 1 to 5 miles away.

You can have a minion take care of your Chancel - it requires a Grace and committed motes.

The Everfull Bottle

Once upon a time, a stranger came to the mansion of a Southern lord, with nothing but a merry song and a Bottle to her name. When the guards would not let her in, she poured them a drink. And another. And one more. By then, none of them were sober enough to complain, so she took their hats and sabers, and tossed them into the Bottle. "Add a pinch of steel," she grinned and wandered on.

The lord was an avid gardener, and the mansion grounds were a maze beyond compare, in which entire armies had been lost and destroyed by the hungry beasts that roamed within. Usually, guests would be escorted by the guards and warned away, but the stranger had no guide but her wits and her Bottle. Finding that the creatures of the labyrinth were teetotalers, she smiled and popped the cork, then poured out an ocean. As the hedges and horrors were washed away, she plucked some fur and leaves. "Mix in a bit of spice," she murmured and wandered on.

Daiklaives ready and auras shattering the walls, the lord and his retainers waited for the stranger, focusing essence into an irresistible blast that would consume her and much of the landscape behind. She swayed in time with her sips from the Bottle and caught the ravening bolt on the rim. When the steam and debris dissipated, the stranger wasn't there, and her song rang from the mansion's cellars. "Top up with firewater," she chortled and wandered on.

The Dragons charged as one, bursting with power and ready to face any foe. Except, perhaps, the stranger, who was tossing the cellar's contents into her Bottle, using antique wines as bait for something. The deathblow was pre-empted by a gint whale landing on the company, blowing as it tried to get the last of the Eau de Robinet '85. The stranger shook her Bottle, and watched as the mansion and is lords poured into it. "Set on a good foundation," she declared, and wandered into it as well.

When the townsfolk came to see what had happened, they found that the lord and his mansion had been replaced by a very hospitable inn, lacking only personnel, fully stocked and with thousands of bottles in the rear. One of those is the Bottle, but they're not sure which - nor when the stranger will come back for it.

Mechanics

1-dot Chancel
The Bottle is an ordinary Chancel, its main gate being the Bottle itself. It has a secondary exit that manifests within a mile, typically as another bottle in the best furnished wine cellar in the vicinity. Inhabited by a number of Workers, Diplomats, and Warriors, the Bottle can quickly provide whatever items, creatures, or environments its owner feels like, and can be used as an escape route or means of capturing interesting folk.

[Dazhbug]

All of meschlum's posts make me increasingly terrified of heading out beyond Creations borders.

[Lord Raziere]

I am an idiot.

I just realized how Night's fit in with being Chosen of the Unconquered Sun.

its because when the sun sets, The Unconquered Sun is hiding from the world.

it took me this long to figure that out.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?

[TheCountAlucard]

I am an idiot.

I just realized how Night's fit in with being Chosen of the Unconquered Sun.

its because when the sun sets, The Unconquered Sun is hiding from the world.

it took me this long to figure that out.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?

Especially considering one of their sobriquets is "Hidden Suns."

So does this mean you don't quit Exalted?

[Lord Raziere]

Especially considering one of their sobriquets is "Hidden Suns."

So does this mean you don't quit Exalted?

yes, because everyone knows that things said in the heat of anger in a temporary snap of frustration are eternally binding contracts that cannot be revoked or taken back. If I really need to tell you that is sarcasm, then I feel very sorry for you.

[TheCountAlucard]

If I really need to tell you that is sarcasm, then I feel very sorry for you.

You say you feel sorry for me if I can't notice your sarcasm, but don't consider the possibility of my own post having been sarcastic?

[Lord Raziere]

You say you feel sorry for me if I can't notice your sarcasm, but don't consider the possibility of my own post having been sarcastic?

the only explanation for that I have is that I'm high-functioning autistic and get at least -1 to -2 penalty to all Awareness rolls involving social interaction. with an additional -1 penalty due to involvement of the internet. Zenith or Eclipse Caste, I am not. Not that I'm using my condition as an excuse for jerkery or anything, because I'm not. if I'm aware that I'm being a jerk that means I try to correct it immediately.

[TheCountAlucard]

Point was, welcome back, Raziere.

[Lord Raziere]

Oh.

Thanks.

but to keep this on topic:

Evocations! I'm planning on making a crown or something that has "shoot lightning from one's palms" as an evocation, but more probably its going to end up as Smashfists.

also heard something about Sorcerous Workings. those will be interesting, permanent magical changes to the world? that I can get behind. especially if I finagle it in ways to make things I like.

[meschlum]

Oh, and another category of quasi-Grace Magic.

Essence and Gossamer Workings

Are not artifacts, so have no committed mote costs

Start out as Exceptional items with extra bonuses

Can include minions and localized alterations of reality as alternate options, granting servants, dice, and minor powers

Are made via Charms, typically very fast for simple items and slower for the most broken.

All of meschlum's posts make me increasingly terrified of heading out beyond Creations borders.

Why? For just one bp, you can have a Grace and indulge too!

Once you start using All Consuming God Monster style, you can be sane despite your virtues, and get rid of permanent Limit. Thus proving that the Wyld is actually a source of reason and stability.

Besides, with Chancels existing it's possible to carry the Wyld into Creation, so you're not much safer there.

And finally, Grace magic powered social skills and transformations are awesome.


Ahem.

Exalted Social Combat, you say? It's messy.

1) Social Combat is Slow. Even if you've managed to drain all your opponent's willpower, it will take multiple scenes to erode or create an Intimacy.

2) Social Combat is Flat. Convincing someone to buy a slightly bruised apple has almost the same difficulty as making them develop an Intimacy of love for you (possibly even harder).

3) Social Combat is Restricted. Mundane folk bargaining between themselves are more or less immune to it.

4) Social Combat is Unused. It can sort of describe long term seduction / conversion attempts (create / erode Intimacy, Motivation manipulation), but settling prices, making a good impression, inflaming or calming a mob, bluffing a guard... call for houserules at best.

So what do you want in order to perform Social Combat?

- UMI is king. Otherwise, you are draining willpower once per scene, and need 11+ successes to fully drain the willpower of a Willpower 4 mundane with no Integrity. Then you need another scene to get them to do what you want - so it's more like 14+ successes so they can't spend the required willpower. Raksha have Charms they can share that make all your social attacks UMI.

- Time is critical. An Intimacy takes multiple scenes to create or remove (unless you have suitable Charms, as Raksha do and can share), so it's not going to happen anywhere near combat time. If you lack UMI, you'll need even more time to erode willpower first.

- MDV is useful. 3 more points of MDV not only are the equivalent of reducing an opponent's pool by 6 dice, they also mean 1 less willpower spent to resist. You'll want to watch your Virtues (pro Virute versus against it is a 4 point MDV swing), and hiding your Motivation or having a boring always applicable one helps a lot. Raksha have charms to edit Virtues, ignore them, and even change Motivations (among non-Exalts).

- Charms rule. Normal social combat effects are only really applicable for slowly convincing someone to work for you, where Charms are the only way you'll manage anything else. Raksha have Untouchable Performer Technique, which makes them immune to Charm use aimed at raising organizations against them. This is inadvertently and incredibly powerful.

- Appearance is god. +1 Appearance is +1 MDV for you, -1 MDV for opponents - so it's a bonus two dice both ways. Raksha (and Lunars) have Charms to get past the +/-3 limit, so get all the Appearance you can.

[ChaosArchon]

So a thought came up to me but I figured I'd ask the general thread. The question is whether an Exalt can really be a rebel or whether we as PCs are mostly relegated to groups (the Circles), which for all intents and purposes are triumvirates but with 5ish members (pentavirates?). It seems almost a forgone conclusion regarding any Circle that's not just hunting relics will eventually become the rulers of some area. While this is great, and I love the feeling of gravitas and empowerment that comes through being an Exalt, it seems rather hard to ever feel like a rebel. You never feel like you're powerless or on the weaker side. At no point does it ever feel like your enemies are so numerous or powerful as to make you fear for your freedom.

I'm not sure whether this is just a me thing or whether others have this feeling, but as of now I can't think of a single time where I've felt like rebel in Exalted. I just feel like another crown fighting the current crown (cue:Won't Be Fooled Again playing in the background), except with divinely-given magic powers. But anyway, I look forward to hear from you all.

[Lord Raziere]

So a thought came up to me but I figured I'd ask the general thread. The question is whether an Exalt can really be a rebel or whether we as PCs are mostly relegated to groups (the Circles), which for all intents and purposes are triumvirates but with 5ish members (pentavirates?). It seems almost a forgone conclusion regarding any Circle that's not just hunting relics will eventually become the rulers of some area. While this is great, and I love the feeling of gravitas and empowerment that comes through being an Exalt, it seems rather hard to ever feel like a rebel. You never feel like you're powerless or on the weaker side. At no point does it ever feel like your enemies are so numerous or powerful as to make you fear for your freedom.

I'm not sure whether this is just a me thing or whether others have this feeling, but as of now I can't think of a single time where I've felt like rebel in Exalted. I just feel like another crown fighting the current crown (cue:Won't Be Fooled Again playing in the background), except with divinely-given magic powers. But anyway, I look forward to hear from you all.

I actually agree with this. I don't want to have no fear for my freedom or be a crown. though other people will probably start going something along the lines of "but the Scarlet Empire and Wyld Hunt" and give long descriptions of how your Solar has to keep it on the down low because Dragon-Blooded or how your an Anathema that everyone hates, or maybe even take rebel the wrong way and start talking about how a rebel needs to become a ruler eventually and start making laws which y'now takes all the fun out of it, or how the entire point is that Solars are more powerful than everyone else or something.

In before all that by the way.

but don't worry, the devs have said that when 3e comes out, victory for Solars will be a less sure thing and that it will be possible for Exalts to lose even to regular heroic mortals. If it ever comes out...the raw text is done, its just the layout thing still needs to be finished so that the book looks good, so it should be done by....next month, or the month after that....or by summer if your pessimistic. its been in the works for two years by now so while its close, don't hold your breath.

[Aquatosic]

but don't worry, the devs have said that when 3e comes out, victory for Solars will be a less sure thing and that it will be possible for Exalts to lose even to regular heroic mortals. If it ever comes out...the raw text is done, its just the layout thing still needs to be finished so that the book looks good, so it should be done by....next month, or the month after that....or by summer if your pessimistic. its been in the works for two years by now so while its close, don't hold your breath.

Huh. I would definitely want to play as a heroic mortal then. Which begs the question, can only Exalts attune to hearthstones?

[golentan]

Don't buy it. Solars who are combat focused against mortals who are as well, in the absence of overwhelming numbers, still winds up with the solar smashing them into oblivion.

Oh, though I'm hoping magically inclined mortals get evocations (if they don't? I'm giving them anyway). That ought to even the odds somewhat...

Spoiler

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[Tome]

Don't buy it. Solars who are combat focused against mortals who are as well, in the absence of overwhelming numbers, still winds up with the solar smashing them into oblivion.

From looking at the leaked mechanics? What they meant was 'legendarily skilled mortal heroes don't automatically loose versus chargen exalts, because starting charms aren't quite as overwhelmingly powerful' with a bit of 'more of the system is dependant on dice rolls, so a really lucky mortal might just be able to win'.

[Tome]

Not when you factor in Supernal abilities.

Yep, they kind of botched that, didn't they?

Still, non-Dawns allow the mortals to give a much better showing at least.