Re-Recruiting: Can't Take the Sky From Me-[Exalted, Heaven's Reach]

[Tavar]

I started with 9 players. Now I'm down to maybe 5, quite possibly fewer.

This is an Exalted 2.5 game, set in the Heaven's Reach shard. Looking for 1-3 more players. This game starts off with each character relatively newly exalted, and somewhat adrift without a place to call home. I expect that to change quickly, though.

Anything else you want, just ask me.



Here's the original game blurb:

Spoiler

The Malfean War devastated the Empire, shearing large parts of it off, to flounder into darkness and Anarchy. But the Empire reborn, lead by His Divine Lunar Presence, has begun the task of bringing all the worlds back into the light of Law and Order.

Not all who are offered the chance accept, however. Sometimes, the Empire simply lets those worlds wallow in darkness, accepting that not all those recognize His Beneficence for what it is. Other times, as loathe as he is to do it, he must bring force to bear upon those who spurn His offers of integration.

The Swan Dynasty was one such area: several star systems located at a nexus of Canals, they banded together to hold off their neighbors. They were unable, however to hold off the Empire's interest. Fighting broke out, called the Overreach War by the Swan Dynasty and it's supporters, and the Swan Sector Incident by the Empire. The fighting lasted for 4 years, and at the end, the Swan's were broken.

The sector is still under development and reconstruction 2 years later, with scars of the war abounding. Many have lost their place in the universe, and Crime is rife among the stars. Smuggler's, Traders, Pirates, Bounty Hunters, all these and more can describe the same people, sometimes at the same time. You are one such group, a band of misfits, treading water till you can find firm ground.

But one must always watch for Sharks....

Spoiler

Just to be clear, quite a bit of influence from Firefly, Cowboy Bebop, and the like. And by a bit, I mean a whole hell of a lot.

Spoiler

This will be using Exalted 2.5 and the Heaven's Reach shard.

Character Creation: Alchemicals are the only MoEP that I do not have, and thus aren't viable for the game(sorry). Neither are Fair Folk or anything from Scroll of Fallen Races. Infernals are allowed, but not using Theion's charmset.

You may only buy up to Essence 3 with BP.

We will be using a flat cost system for xp. The only scaling purchase will be Essence.

All parts of errata'd character creation found on page 7 are applicable to all types of exalts, not just the * ones.

Manse is currently a restricted background: you can use it, but max is 3 dots in it, and you'll need a good reason.

Merits are allowed on a Case by case basis. No Flaws.

The party will start with a Mundane Star Ship for free: you can chose either of the two options(Swan Class or Friendly Roc class), or request a more custom one. Additional ships are allowed, and can replace this ship if you wish.

Dragonblooded use Scion of the Realm rules, except for Breeding, where they use Lookshy's rules.

Lunar's use these rules.

Sidereal Errata is in effect. You do not have to use the ronin character creation, and can opt to not have Arcane Fate.

Infernals come from Solars who realized that an alternative method to removing the taint was to allow the virus to take hold more fully. It has a similar result in terms of long term potential, but you instead gain access to the Power of the Corrupted Stellar Intelligence.

All players have an extra 12 bonus points to play with at character creation. Dragonblooded have an additional 6 on top of that. Essence cannot be raised above 3.


Solars and get 5 free Excellencies chosen from their Caste and Favored Abilities, Lunars get 2 free Excellencies chosen from their Caste and Favored Attributes, while Sidereals get 4 free Excellencies chosen from their Auspicious and Favored abilities. Infernals gain either their favored or caste yozi's first excellency for free, including all future purchases.

Also, You'll roll your highest virtue(or whichever one it tied to your virtue flaw) to regain willpower.

You aren't going to be dictating broad policy quite yet, but it's not like lacking immediate power has stopped Exalted before.

Here's the chart, stolen from Sojiko on the White Wolf boards.

Spoiler

* Attribute : 8/6 XPs
* Ability : 4/3 XPs
* Specialty : 2/1 XPs (1)
* Native-level Magics : 10/8 XPs (includes Charms and spells)
* Unfavorable magic : 9 XPs (includes heretical Charms, Infernal spells, and Knacks)
* Superior Magics : 12/10 XPs (includes mortals learning TMA and TCS, or Db learning CMAs)
* Essence : Rating × 8 XPs
* Virtue : 3~2 XPs
* Willpower : 3 XPs
* Backgrounds up to 3 dots : 3 XPs
* 4th and 5th dots of background : 3~4 XPs
* Combo : sum of minimums
* Stuff not on this list already : normally it's the old XP cost.

More Setting information:

Spoiler

The Tongue-Old Realm Equivalent. Been around since before anyone can remember. Common among scholars and the like. Generally not used in everyday speech.

Empire Standard is High realm, and the normal language of the Empire.

Standard is the equivalent of River Speak+Low Realm, and isn't a true language as mixture of trade tongues that combined themselves. It's a secondary language at best.

Galactic West is Forest Tongue, and is the primary language spoken by the Swan Dynasty and their neighbors.

There are also Galactics North, South, and East.

The Celestial Mountain can be likened to the computer that the universe runs on. In this case, sorcery is brute force hacking or re-purposing of the system.

More on Stellar Intelligence and the like.

Spirits are obviously programs. In this case, First Circle Demons are sub-programs of the former stellar intelligence: useful, but aren't really necessary. Second Circle's are more important programs actually tasked with keeping the hardware working and all. Third Circle's represent key parts of the Stellar Intelligence's hardware.

Infernal exaltations latch onto one of the first circle programs, re-purposing them for their own needs. The implantation of the exaltation is much more intensive than normal, mortals having trouble naturally harnessing the power of the Stellar Intelligences.

Infernal's still have urges, chosen not by a Stellar Intelligence, but are created to be in theme from the First Circle program chosen. Infernals also have torment, though not the canon form. Essentially, both Infernals and Sidereals(at least those who have been hacked) have a limit mechanic, but it's nowhere near as powerful as the canon ones thought.


Swan Dynsasty comprised about 7 major systems, about 2 score of minor ones, and triple that in negligible systems.

Their Capital was in the so called Cygnus system, boasting 4 Human type planets, as well as 2 more livable planets for non-humans, and only somewhat more difficult for humans to live there(higher or lower temps, mostly aquatic, etc). Now one of the Human type planets is barely habitable due to the war's devastation, and the others all suffered their own share of damage as well. Cygnus suffered the worst, however, as it's location nearer the Empire's border made it an early and long battle ground.

Not all of the Dynast has been subsumed. About 15% of it's rimward held systems have not been officially claimed by the Empress: none of these are the valuable Major systems, and few are minor ones, but there are many negligible systems that are simply too small for the Empire to exert itself. These are dangerous areas: not only from the pirates and other lowlifes, but from desperate people short of supplies.

Listing all the noteworthy worlds and systems would take too long(especially since I'd have to make all of them up...). Probably the most noteworthy systems are Anatidae and Terna. The Former is the current seat of the Provincial Government. Well ordered and under control. Their grasp on the rest of the province is tenuous at best, normally extending only as far as the range of their weapons. Besides fallen Cygnus, this is the most terraformed system in the sector, acting as a breadbasket for much of the province. The Empire's interest in the system is easy to see: by controlling food, they control the rest to a degree. Shipments to troublesome worlds are often delayed with inspections and the like.

Terna was known as the Dark Jewel of Swan. It was said one could trade anything in Swan, and Terna was the vast marketplace of the stars. A Binary system, it is an enormous nexus of canal's, and due to size alone it had the second largest population after Cygnus. Terna was almost untouched by the war, and most Swanians think that it was the reason for the Empire's interest.

Terna-Beta is a Red Giant, with minimal population, most of it aliens who need more extreme climates, such as gas giants. It is also where most orbital industry in the system is located. The yards here could not build the massive war machines of some other yards, but you could get anything for a price. And with the other yards destroyed or under Empire control, you still can.

Terna-Alpha is the true marvel of the system, though. Some claim it was the Immaculate Golden Engineer who build the rings and changed the orbit of the planets, but if that information still exists, it's buried somewhere deep in the Celestial Mountain. One planet orbits in the plane of the system, but the other four do not: one orbits the star perpendicular to the 'normal' one, and the other two planet's orbits bisect the angle between them. Each of the planets is ideal for a different major species in the area, except humanity. They must settle for the Rings.

Beyond these strange planetary orbits, massive rings circle the star, five in total, though only 4 are inhabited. Artificial habitats dot the four, and here is where most business is done, as well as where most humans live. It's said the sight approaching the rings is one of the most beautiful in all the stars, light filtering though massive collectors and diverse atmospheres.

Detractors then mention that the most beautiful things are often the most deadly, and this too holds true: crime rules Terna. Organized Crime, and organized crime that works closely with the government to be sure, but never has such a wretched hive attracted so many worthies.

Past these systems is the Rim Worlds. Small confederations and alliances are the norm, but nothing lasts. Or, nothing did last. Now that they have an expansionistic neighbor, that might not hold true.

Character	Player	Primary Role	Secondary Role
Starlight Nova	Myllinnia	Fighter Support	Public Relations
Mikil Corzi	DrakeRaids	Ship's Doctor	Melee Support
Luminous Shadows of Midnight	Kobold-Bard	Security	Public Relations
???	The Snark	Security	Scouting
Des Demasque	industrious	Mechanic	Underground Connections

[Tavar]

Anyone interested?

[horus42]

I'm very interested. Heaven's Reach is my favorite Shard. What's your stance on Aliens Exalting? Or can only the Exaltations only attach to humans?

[Qwertystop]

Was this the one I entered in before that I wasn't accepted in? I was the Sidereal who found his Shard embedded in a piece of fruit? May I reenter?

[Exthalion]

I would like to reenter my Wormhole-Tree alien Infernal. The one who was stuck on a comet with a First-Circle during the war who eventually became his coadjutor when they passed through a debris field.

[vegetalss4]

I would like to show interest but I will need a bit of time to finish a concept first.
I would likely be some kind of transhumanist.

[Empyreal]

I'd apply, but there looks to be some dealbreakers for me in the overall setup, so. Instead I will wish you good luck on filling your game up! HR really does rock.

[Qwertystop]

Originally Posted by Exthalion

I would like to reenter my Wormhole-Tree alien Infernal. The one who was stuck on a comet with a First-Circle during the war who eventually became his coadjutor when they passed through a debris field.

Okay yeah, this is definitely the one I entered before. Anybody have a link to the original thread? I forgot to save my backstory with the sheet.

[Volthawk]

Oh yeah, this game was the one I was making a lunar tank (literally - dual-wielding bigass guns and taking advantage of how tough Lunars can get when warformed). I'm interested, not too sure what I'll make this time though.

[vegetalss4]

I have been thinking a bit about my concept, and what I have until now is, someone from a minor world which had lost all contact with the universe at large and fallen into a dark age, leaving only superstition and myth from the earlier technological days. My character would have left this world, when a hellstrider fell from the sky, bearing the corpse and exaltation of an Infernal inside, which then chose her. Once she stepped out into the Swan system, she would then have been dazzled by the (to her) incredible amazing wonders of their technology and take to Transhumanism with the fervor of a recent convert.


If such a base concept would be acceptable - how should I go about designing such a hellstrider? would you prefer I stick to canon demons, or would it be okay if I invented my own/used others following to the rules in the Scrolls of divinity?

[Qwertystop]

Actually, I just had the vague seed of an alternate idea:

A Sidereal addicted to Wrapped Fly Ritual. This has the interesting side effect of making it much harder to catch and reprimand him for his unprofessional addiction to Wrapped Fly Ritual.

[Exthalion]

Originally Posted by Qwertystop

Actually, I just had the vague seed of an alternate idea:

A Sidereal addicted to Wrapped Fly Ritual. This has the interesting side effect of making it much harder to catch and reprimand him for his unprofessional addiction to Wrapped Fly Ritual.

There is always auditing. Though finding ways to punish a masochist does require ingenuity. I suppose there is always a sensory deprivation chamber.

[Qwertystop]

Originally Posted by Exthalion

There is always auditing. Though finding ways to punish a masochist does require ingenuity. I suppose there is always a sensory deprivation chamber.

Oh, it wasn't masochism I was talking about. Wrapped Fly makes lots and lots of weird stuff happen. It's like LSD, but real! The harder-to-catch bit is just that it's very difficult to find someone whom Fate is ignoring. Also, do you really think giving the Pattern Spiders less work is Severity 3? As long as I don't do it in Yu-Shan, there's no problem that falls on the Severity scale at all.

[Exthalion]

Originally Posted by Qwertystop

Oh, it wasn't masochism I was talking about. Wrapped Fly makes lots and lots of weird stuff happen. It's like LSD, but real! The harder-to-catch bit is just that it's very difficult to find someone whom Fate is ignoring. Also, do you really think giving the Pattern Spiders less work is Severity 3? As long as I don't do it in Yu-Shan, there's no problem that falls on the Severity scale at all.

I would assume all the messes you made while enduring it, like not being able to pour liquids out of containers, would be the unpleasant part thus the masochism. All the extra work fixing the fate errors could be equivalent to divine hooliganry or causing a disturbance of some level to a god of essence (x) which the Firstborn spider is even if the rest aren't.

They might just track you by the massive collection of fate errors you would accumulate around yourself.

[Qwertystop]

On the first: We'll have to agree to disagree. As long as conditions remain survivable (that is, I don't suddenly fall through the ground and suffocate), it seems like it'd be fun, or maybe mildly annoying. I suppose the bit about hooliganry and annoying the Firstborn is true, though...

But I thought any lingering Fate errors just hung around and I had to deal with them myself?

[Exthalion]

Originally Posted by Qwertystop

On the first: We'll have to agree to disagree. As long as conditions remain survivable (that is, I don't suddenly fall through the ground and suffocate), it seems like it'd be fun, or maybe mildly annoying. I suppose the bit about hooliganry and annoying the Firstborn is true, though...

But I thought any lingering Fate errors just hung around and I had to deal with them myself?

They do and you are supposed to. Nothing says you have to and if you keep Wrapped Flying yourself, they are going to accumulate at a prodigious rate to the point you might not be able to keep ahead of them. Fixing them is part of the penance. Using for more then one dot of paradox in downtime leads to in play fixes required. That is for a few days. You could accumulate weeks worth or more.

[Tavar]

Blarg canon Paradox set up. K, let's get some answers up.

Most aliens can Exalt. Some cannot(ones based on Dragon Kings or Mountain folk, for example), but generally, most can.

Anyone can re-enter, yes.

Exthalion: Honestly, I'd prefer something at least a bit different. I didn't particularly feel grabbed by the race, or the character.

vegetalss4: that idea might work, but making a custom hellstrider is a bit difficult, as they're a somewhat poor build of a extremely poor foundation.

[Exthalion]

A few questions then.

First: What do the various backgrounds represent? For example, would some petty king on a backwater planet who had what traditional resources 5 gives not have it since all those riches are less valuable in the greater galactic community?

Second: Can we use this DPC style rewrite by PoH?

Third: How useful would planet bound assets be?

Fourth: I assume in the interest of not stepping on other people's toes that, for example, a sterotypical Twilight would not be accepted due to conflicting with the motivation of the existing mechanic?

My idea is for a Zenith who found the tomb of the prior host on his primitive home planet. He attained the exaltation and access to a vast repository of knowledge. After centuries of subtle manipulation and open conquest he has succeeded in taking over the planet and dragging it into rediscovering spaceflight.

Given that it seems likely that a reigning god-king would be poisonous to the game you seem to be going for, some kind of, "I ascend now to the stars. Now then, here my last commandment: Come, follow me." situation where he finally got the heck out of dodge and into the greater galactic community he knew was out there.

How does all this sound?

[vegetalss4]

Originally Posted by Tavar

vegetalss4: that idea might work, but making a custom hellstrider is a bit difficult, as they're a somewhat poor build of a extremely poor foundation.

So, in the interest of complete clarity, this means that I should stick to a standard Jewel-of-War, right?

[horus42]

Ok, then I'll probably spend some of those extra bonus points on mutations. I'm thinking something serpentine...

[Jade Dragon]

Originally Posted by Tavar

vegetalss4: that idea might work, but making a custom hellstrider is a bit difficult, as they're a somewhat poor build of a extremely poor foundation.

Could you use Kyeudo's Warstrider Fix?

[Tavar]

His fix is alright, but it isn't really a fix.

Also, we are using this mutation fix.

More answers coming soon.

[wadledo]

Sidereal Serenity Fighter Pilot, I think was my idea for this.
I should probably get to work on that.

[Lord Raziere]

cool, posting interest….

as……(some Heaven's Reach equivalent of a Salarian) Twilight Caste. or some sort of Free Sidereal.

[Tavar]

Originally Posted by Exthalion

First: What do the various backgrounds represent? For example, would some petty king on a backwater planet who had what traditional resources 5 gives not have it since all those riches are less valuable in the greater galactic community?

Backgrounds are, by necessity, relative. Probably this would involve some lower-class resource, similar to how Wealth is the high class resource. The King would likely end up on 2-3 for resources as most of the galactic community sees it.

Originally Posted by Exthalion

Second: Can we use this DPC style rewrite by PoH?

Let me look it over.

Originally Posted by Exthalion

Third: How useful would planet bound assets be?

That's difficult to say. Those assets could be useful, but they'd have to be in the area to be so, and I'm not sure anyone should have large amounts of assets in system.

Originally Posted by Exthalion

Fourth: I assume in the interest of not stepping on other people's toes that, for example, a sterotypical Twilight would not be accepted due to conflicting with the motivation of the existing mechanic?

Not stepping on people's toes is a plus, yes.

Originally Posted by Exthalion

My idea is for a Zenith who found the tomb of the prior host on his primitive home planet. He attained the exaltation and access to a vast repository of knowledge. After centuries of subtle manipulation and open conquest he has succeeded in taking over the planet and dragging it into rediscovering spaceflight.

Given that it seems likely that a reigning god-king would be poisonous to the game you seem to be going for, some kind of, "I ascend now to the stars. Now then, here my last commandment: Come, follow me." situation where he finally got the heck out of dodge and into the greater galactic community he knew was out there.

Not really sure he'd fit in with the thrust of this campaign.

In fact, this is something of a problem: every character so far has connections to the world at large. Doing 'lone member of planet who got offworld' seems counter to that, and might be troublesome as why would you have come to this wartorn sector?

[Exthalion]

How about something like Anara then? Since we seem to be filling roles from Firefly?

[Tavar]

That would work. Remember, the region of space this takes place in just had a horrible war, one which devastated at least one system. Should be plenty to work from that.

[Lix Lorn]

Drake said you wanted people, so I'll see if I can think of something? Consider me interested, at least.

[Dragnar]

Well, count me interested. I'm thinking a solar engineer, with a slight side of sorcery...

Edit: Which, knowing me, will result in copious amounts of homebrew machinery eventually.

[Tavar]

Note for those interested: I'm open to using EarthScorpions Lunar rewrite, and I an willing to use other materials to cover some of the unintentional gaps due to the stuff not being finished yet.

Also, I might end up using Revlid's craft re-write.