Admittedly, I've never played Exalted either. However, from the look of things....
Have you played any of the old white wolf games?
Vampire the Masquerade, Hunter, Werewolf, Mage?
The mechanics are pretty much the same. even the character sheets look nearly identical
Basically most rolls are a stat+skill, stat+talent, stat+virtue, etc.
dice are all d10, there is a "target number"
the more dice you roll over the target number, the more "successes" you have...the more successes, the more successful your task is...or the more damage you do. difficulties can be 10 and above even...a roll of a natural 10, you re-roll the die, and add that number to the 10.
After that, if you're hitting someone, they have "soak" dice, where their successes (based on powers, armor, and/or stats) can lower your successes...."absorbing" some of the damage.
Did i get it right?
Wrong-ish. You're thinking 1st edition Exalted/oWoD, which used a much more roll-heavy system. 2e Exalted uses skill+stat rolls, fixed target number of 7, with 10s counting double. Enemy defenses are static values that either subtract from your successes or your diepool(Defense Values from Successes, Soak from the dice pool)
Anyhow, re: Plutonium, it's less that Exalts hit hard, and more that you don't want to be hurt at all. Someone with high strength and a big weapon will tear through your armor if they hit you, someone with low strength and some knives is going to have to ping you to death, or hope you aren't a Lunar with Invulnerable Moonsilver Carapace. Essence Ping does make it very hard to create a soak-based character, but soak will keep you alive for a hit or two, which is, obviously, important.
Will the characters form a perfect circle, or can there be two of one caste? Also, should we start working on character concepts yet?
Depends on what you guys want to do. A perfect circle is obviously more interesting, as far as First Age incarnation history goes, and it provides the old 'drawn together by fate' excuse, but if you want to put extra time and effort into backstories, you guys could be five night castes for all I care. I'm waiting to see what your characters are before I lay any serious plans.
Gonna lay down the law tomorrow!
I'll make my choice of players and lay down what I'm looking for as far as circle/chargen goes. Remember, the more you tell me about what you want from the campaign, the more likely I am to choose you, because, you know, if you're putting input in here, it indicates that you want to give input in the game itself.
Papillon - Wants to avoid the Wyld Hunt at least at the start.
That's a bit of a simplification -- more like I don't want to be pussy-footing around. I've been interested in Exalted for a while, but the only time I managed to get involved in a game, it was on these very boards. The game got stuck in Introduction Hell, and the GM lost interest. I don't want a repeat of that. I want to play Exalted so I can cut people into little pieces in creative and interesting ways with big, shiny, pointed sticks and over the top special effects^H^H^Hsorcery.
Re: Demesenes. I think if someone is playing a sorcerer they would want to start out controlling a Manse, if allowed. Sorcery uses a lot of essence.
Papillon - Wants to avoid the Wyld Hunt at least at the start.
That's a bit of a simplification -- more like I don't want to be pussy-footing around. I've been interested in Exalted for a while, but the only time I managed to get involved in a game, it was on these very boards. The game got stuck in Introduction Hell, and the GM lost interest. I don't want a repeat of that. I want to play Exalted so I can cut people into little pieces in creative and interesting ways with big, shiny, pointed sticks and over the top special effects^H^H^Hsorcery.
Re: Demesenes. I think if someone is playing a sorcerer they would want to start out controlling a Manse, if allowed. Sorcery uses a lot of essence.
Well, there's running around and hiding for the hell of it, and then there's being subtle because you don't want the entire world after you. I certainly don't intend to slap you in the face every time your caste mark glows, but if you wander into Paragon with a big sword and start chopping people in half then the Realm is gonna drop on your ass.
Chiaroscuro is an interesting case in point for something like that, because if you're subtle about being a Solar, and don't flash your powers in front of Dragon-Blooded(at least not without killing them) you'll be fine, but just one wrong step can bring a Wyld Hunt down on your ass if you flash the wrong person in public.
If you're deep in the desert and battling demons, though... that same Dragon-Blooded will probably cut you some slack as long as you don't get all buddy-buddy with him. It's all circumstantial, really, and as I've said before, the Realm's reach only extends along the coast. Beyond that, it's whatever the locals can round up for a Hunt, and if there's not enough they're not going to risk their lives to do it.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
After the first fifty pages of the book (which is all setting, I have an idea on character background but haven't even touched a build yet) I think what I would like to see is the South (and maybe all of the Threshold?) on the verge of open rebellion from the Realm. Only none of the powers that be want to make a target of themselves by moving first, so everybody with any amount of power is building whatever support they can while warily eyeing their neighbors who are doing the exact same thing.
Of course, if the Realm were paying attention, they could make an example of one of the plotters and scare everyone else back in line before the powderkeg ignites. But before they get their ducks in a row, along come five Solars who (intentionally? accidentally?) provoke the plotters into moving right now for fear of the Solars upsetting their plans. All it takes is one ruler to use the Solars in some way and suddenly everybody else has to unite to contest that power lest they end up on the sharp end of the stick.
And voila, open war all throughout the South with the Solars caught in the middle. Who do they support? Do they care? What if the Realm attacks? Or any of the other inhuman threats?
I kind of picture it like A Game Of Thrones, except five of us get to play Ser Arthur Dayne.
Well, there's running around and hiding for the hell of it, and then there's being subtle because you don't want the entire world after you. I certainly don't intend to slap you in the face every time your caste mark glows, but if you wander into Paragon with a big sword and start chopping people in half then the Realm is gonna drop on your ass.
Yeah, I get that, and I'm fine with playing subtle if the situation calls for it. But I also want the chances to go to town on someone. Basically I'm looking for a balance. This is what I'm trying to clarify -- I get the impression that you think I'm looking for only a hack and slash type gameplay, which is not the case.
I kind of picture it like A Game Of Thrones, except five of us get to play Ser Arthur Dayne.
with mad wire fu right?
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
A Game of Thrones meets Hero and we're all Jet Li?
!!
But that's just my thoughts. Political intrigue leading to great big fights. With the cover of rebellion to put everyone in fear of the Realm, so we have a bit of a common ground with the NPCs.
RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
Tony Leung actually had the more memorable role, I just didn't know his name. :P
My character concept is coming together quite nicely, at least backstory wise. I'd like to play a Zenith from the Blessed Isle who, in a here-and-now motivation, wants to destroy or humiliate the nearest branch of the Immaculate Order. Basically, having been raised as Dragonborn, he was a devout believer in the Immaculate Philosophy, and becoming an Exalted champion of the Realm was his greatest wish. And then, whoops! He gets Exalted and not only is it for the wrong team, but he has this great personal revelation from the Unconquered Sun telling him in no uncertain terms how he should live his life as a Solar. So he decides the only way he can reconcile his beliefs with becoming a Solar is for him to do what the Immaculate Philosophy tells him that Solars do: Disobey the Realm in every way possible. Because to do anything else would put the lie to the Order's teachings.
Of course, not wanting to step on Undead's (related to Dragonborn) or Egos' (playing a Zenith) toes here. I can switch some things up, it just so happened that everything fell in place in regards to setting with the way I just wrote it.
Okay, since nobody's done this I've comprised a list of everyone who's said they're interested, when they last posted to the thread, and what they've said they're interested in playing.
We've got 9 people who've said they're interested, and one who's posted to the thread, but unless I missed it never said they're interested.
Simulacrum, last post 7/7 said he's interested, but needs the books...dunno if he's gotten ahold of them
Papillion last post 7/8, is interested in playing a Dawn Caste Daiklave wielder.
Udjat_Eye last post 7/7 is down, has said what setting he wants, but no character interests yet.
Me, 7/8, am currently reading the book, Pondering playing a Twilight Caste.
Egos, 7/8 said maybe depending on schedule, is interested in a zenith robin hood, hook swords look cool.
Undead Unicorn, 7/7 is definitely in, eclipse caste
Plutonium 7/7 wants to play a daiklave and firewand wielding dawn or night caste
Hotran 7/8 wants to play a range focused night caste
Ringo 7/8 wants to play a Zenith ex dragonborn
ArcanisTheImpotent posted, but I dunno if he's interested in playing.
I'm in lectures/interviews for most of the day today, but here's a bit of background for the moment (deathly afraid of missing the "lay-down-the-law" deadline Rainfall mentioned on the last page.
Still would like to play a Night Caste. As a mortal, he'd been a sort of constable/investigator in one of the larger Southern cities (definitely tweakable depending on where we decide to start, but say Chiarascuro for kicks). I'm thinking of him being employed/attached to a small temple, and tasked with generally keeping the worst-of-the-worst from happening in a neighborhood where just plain awfulness is going to go down no matter what. He's not a bad detective, and he's had some successes, but more often than he'd like he ends up following a particular trail only to find out that it leads to people he can't touch. Maybe they've paid the right people off, maybe they are too well-connected to go after without putting his friends/family/organization in danger, that sort of thing.
Now comes Exaltation. The Unconquered Sun has not only given him the power to go after those that were beyond his power before, but has instructed him that he damn well better do so and do it now! Again, don't want to get too specific before we've fleshed out the exact where and whens of the starting city. My thought is that he's got partial memories of his First Age past, as a spy/"special-ops"-type working at the edge of armies, taking out command and control folks and generally wreaking suprise mayhem behind the lines. Again, I'm a fan of the Perfect Circle idea, or barring that, Solars that have at least fuzzy memories of each other from the First Age that come into play in the here and now.
Really quick post, but all I've got time for at the moment =(.
Here's the info about me, what I want, and who I'd like to be.
I'd like to play in a campaign that involves an intertwined evolving story, overarching with many tieins, and "ooohs", epic type feel (in the sense that it affects the lives of many but does not have to be epic in a sense of saving the entire world, or somesuch nonsense, could be local)
I'd like to experience a mixture of larger warfare and smaller personal group to group, or even solo to solo warfare...possibly due to challenges, etc.
I'd like to see maneuvering, manipulation, and politics, but I'm not sure how it could fit my character concept....doubt he'd be involved in it much.
I'd like to see the campaign travel past local boundaries...since this is my first exalted experience, i'd like to visit multiple locales and "regions" to get a piece of the entire flavor. (the west, the west! and the east maybe)
And finally, and probably most importantly to me and my character concept. I'd like to rediscover/experience first age magics and artifacts, etc.
The character concept that I'd like to play is a Twilight Caste Warrior-Scholar/Sage
Obsessed with rediscovering/reclaiming/rebuilding artifacts of the first age.
With the creation notes that I've got so far, his conviction towards that drive will be fairly high (3, maybe 4)
His skills will support finding, reclaiming, and if required rebuilding....so craft...investigation, lore, occult, linguistics.....with supporting abilities of melee/war/presence when force is necessary.
Backgrounds I'm thinking of are artifact, backing possibly or cult, manse, and resources. (I like backing idea, but would need help fleshing out a society that may support his goals)
I haven't decided on charms yet.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
I agree with the traveling beyond local boundaries aspect - It would be really cool to see all of Creation eventually.
I've been thinking about my concept, and I've decided to go with a Dawn Caste, an ambitious, visionary, mastermind-type character. His primary virtue will be valor, and his backstory is that through a combination of his own talent for both command and political maneuverings, he was a rising star in the Imperial Army with the patronage of House Cathak.
A Winglord in the 47th legion stationed at Harborhead, his exaltation came when he was spotted by Ahlat while acting as a "neutral observer" for the realm during an occurrence of the periodic bloody tribal warfare plaguing the region, where his quick thinking and even quicker draw with a firewand prevented what might have been a rout, instead ensuring that the conflict descended into a war of attrition where neither side emerged in any position of dominance and able to challenge the realm's control of the region. Ahlat passed on this information to the Unconquered Sun, and after 6-8 weeks for delivery, he was granted a solar exaltation.
Of course, Harborhead isn't a safe place for a newly-exalted Solar, so he managed to skip town, perhaps leaving behind a life that might catch up to him. He isn't really idealistic, he sees the Unconquered Sun rather as a much more powerful patron which serves to hasten his dramatic elevation among the beings of creation.
He's going to be pretty well-rounded in a lot of his attributes, with focuses as well as charms in Melee, Archery (firewand specialty), War, Presence, and Socialize.
It's not really a problem to roll even large amounts of dice. There's a few dice rolling programs online.
I personally recommend Infidel's fantastic website at http://4e.orokos.com/roll, where he's generously built in an Exalted function. You create an account which stores all your rolls so everyone can see that nothing's being fudged.
You want to use the command "Zd10x7" , where Z is the number of dice you're rolling, ten is the number of sides on the dice, and x7 being an exalted modifier which counts 7+ as successes, and 10s as two successes.
Combat in Exalted is indeed the most complex part. However, once you scribble down your base values(total attack pool, total damage pool, parry/dodge defense values, bashing/lethal/aggravated soak) it's not too hard to do on the fly, it's just a matter of adding charm/GM-stated modifiers to your roll.
It does take a little getting used to, and so I'm not going to throw you into battle against really tough foes straightaway, obviously. I've got an alternate ruleset waiting in the wings if the game's going well but the rules aren't, so don't panic!
For anyone making a character without a printer, or without access to a printer right at the moment
I found a nice web-based character sheet that you can clicky to fill out.
Tony Leung actually had the more memorable role, I just didn't know his name. :P
.
Tony Leung Chiu Way is an awesome actor if thats who you are talking about. He is great in just about every movie I've seen him in O_O
Cyclo, Ashes of Time and any other War Kong Wai movie. But Ashes of Time is the most related to this type of setting by a long song. Since the others are mostly (romance themed) mood pieces.
Udjat_Eye
Plutonium
Snowdown
Ringo
Papillon
(If anyone doesn't participate to my satisfaction during the creation process, I'll swap out for one of the others, and notify via a PM.)
The five of you will be battling against fate, the odds, communism, fascism, demons, undead, undead demons, and whatever else I see fit.
How are we going to do this?
1. The Circle
Everyone already knows everyone else. Fuck introduction hell. We're probably going to start in the middle of a battle or something, because that's cool and less lame.
So, the obvious questions. How did you meet the circle/everyone else? Why are you sticking together? What does the Circle, as a whole, wish to accomplish?
That last one is very important, it's going to set the tone/objective of the entire first portion of the game. Once you complete that goal we get to set a new one.
2. The Locale
Where are you guys starting? You want to be close to your goal, obviously, so this follows after step 1. What Connections, Resources, Allies, and Mentors do you have in the area? What Intimacies connect you to the area, if any? Feel free to add detailing to the locale, for example some information about a realm satrapy or desert tribe that is close to Chiaroscuro, or even a district/organization within a city.
3. The Individual
Everyone needs a character sheet, obviously. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you define your Limit Break and your Limit Break Condition. It is also VERY IMPORTANT that you define a Motivation and Intimacies. Your Motivation should tie into the Circle Objective in some way, and it shouldn't be a grand encompassing thing(Overthrow the Realm is a stupid motivation. Overthrow the local Realm Satrapy is more reasonable.)
INTIMACIES ARE CRUCIAL! You must define all your intimacies. Intimacies to people and places are far more ideal than intimacies to your items. Feel free to have an Intimacy to your Solar Circle, although it would probably be more appropriate to have an Intimacy to a single member of the Circle that you get along well with. Remember, Intimacies aren't motivations, they're just a mechanically-rooted way to say that you care about your family/horse/hometown/close friends.
4. Advantages
This is a separate step from the Individual. If you have a Manse, Connections, Allies, Mentors, or Resources, they should be detailed separately, since they impact the game in a unique way. What do they represent? Where are they? What do they do? I'll write up sheets for Allies and Mentors, but I need to know who they are and what they do. Resources is an income stream, what is yours? Connections can be a lot more general, but a couple of specifics are always nice.
And of course, a Manse can be a home base for an entire Circle. You can pool Background Points for a manse! Just remember that whoever's paying for the last two points still has to cash in bonus points if you want to go all the way up to five dots, and there's only one Hearthstone.
Artifacts and Manses aren't as much fun as other backgrounds. As a personal request, don't overload on them. I'd rather see Backgrounds that have you interacting with the world.
I'll whip up another post here in a moment with some general Southy flavor text to add a bit more context over the barebones in the corebook, but feel free to get started on building the circle, anything you add to Creation in this part of the process is going to stick.
Once a carefully-modeled miracle of Exalted engineering, allowing mortals to live in parts of the South normally so hot that they would die simply from exposure to raw heat, the South has fallen far. Now, the Realm controls coastal satrapies, and the Great Southern Desert is inhabited by nothing more than harsh nomads and wandering tribes.
A few great powers have arisen from the ashes of the Great Contagion and the Fae Incursion. The City of Paragon, ruled by the immortal Perfect, holds more than a million people inside its borders, all with supernaturally-enforced loyalty to their wise and ancient leader.
The God-controlled land of Harborhead, controlled by Ahlat, the God of Cattle and Southern God of War, and his daughter, Blood on the Horn, is theoretically ruled by the Realm, but constant rebellion and a hostile, fiercely traditional people make it the least-desired posting across the entire span of the Scarlet Empire's rule.
The Lap is a peaceful place, farming underneath the shadow of the Last Supplicant, a massive statue of a meditating man, raised in the First Age by Exalts for a long-forgotten purpose. Its people want nothing more than peace and continued life, but the Last Supplicant draws grand schemes from powerful foes, and as the Realm weakens, it is sure to fall in the crossfire of warring nations.
The grand city of Chiaroscuro has risen from its destruction to once again become the hub of trading in the South, capital of the Delzhan Empire. Free from the Realm, ruled with a light hand by its tribal masters, Chiaroscuro is truly a place where many seek their fortune, hunting long-forgotten First Age secrets amidst the deadly ruins of shattered glass towers in the inner city.
An-Teng is a contrast to Harborhead, a peaceful Satrapy ruled by the realm, with hundreds of years of hidden secrets and tension hidden beneath the surface. While they love the Realm in theory, dark powers and hidden agendas stir beneath their calm exterior.
The city of Gem is a power deep in the desert, mining incalculably valuable stones from deep beneath the Fire Mountains. Although they wish to remain neutral, their wealth makes them a very tempting target for any aspiring southern warlord, and if the South erupts into violence, they will undoubtedly be dragged into it. Their dependence on the Lap for their food supply makes them vulnerable, a key weakness that almost any enemy could exploit.
Finally, the Varangian City-States lie in a dangerous place between the Delzhan Empire and Harborhead, their society dictated entirely by astrological predictions, forcing people into castes and slavery due to predictions made at their birth. On the verge of a revolution, without the protection of the Realm they will surely fall into chaos in a moment's notice.
And so, as the Scarlet Empress disappears, and the Realm looks inwards, stripping the wealth of the South to fuel the upcoming Dynastic Civil War without a care for longevity, war threatens to break out. Into this mix, the Solar Exalts arrive, pushing the South well beyond the boiling point that it currently hangs on.
So from the concepts and inclinations I've seen so far:
Pluto - Dawn
Udjat - Eclipse
Ringo - Zenith
Snowdown - Twilight
Papillon - Dawn or Twilight?
I'm going to post a character sheet and a more detailed background in a little bit. Once we've all gotten the basics of our backgrounds down, we should figure out how we all met, how we feel about one another, etc.
If Udjat takes Eclipse as you suggested it looks like we need a Night Caste to fill out the circle -- I can do that. As far as starting location, my preference goes Gem > Chiaroscuro > Else >>>>>>> Paragon.
Is there anything we need to make sure at least one person in the group has? e.g. Social skills, sorcery, manse, ...
There seems to be some interest in war. If that's the case, may I suggest the first thing to do is one or all of:
1) Search for some First-Age artifacts,
2) Establish a sizable warchest, and/or
3) Find a patron who wants to create trouble for the Realm.
Edit: I was just looking at weapons: apparently Sais are cheaper when you're clinched. "Sir, you look like you're in trouble. Buy my half price Sais?"
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
Heh, somehow missed Plutonium's character post. We have very similar origins, as I was thinking House Ledaal->Legion->Mercenary guarding caravans and protecting Ledaal's interests in the South. So with such similar backgrounds it would make sense that we both traveled in the same circles post-Exaltation.
I was also thinking on making a more rounded character. Hmm...
As far as virtue/motivation, I was going with Conviction and that the Realm/Immaculate Order must be proven to be superior by resisting the power of the Solars to change it. To that end, encouraging a state of open rebellion would be in line with his goals though I think I'd rather we be first tasked with something smaller (merely freeing Paragon from the Perfect's control by involving them in open war?)
Just FYI: I am going to be busy today and tomorrow.
I was thinking of doing something along the line of a desert nomad who's been drawn to <<city>> by fate. He's biding his time by hiring himself out as a desert guide to caravans and adventurers.
So I figure we should probably start by detailing our characters up to the point where they exalted. Once we get down the backgrounds and personalities, appearances, and individual capabilities, we can go from there and figure out how we all met up, what we've done so far, how we all get along, where we want to start out, and what our group goals are.
I believe I'll be playing a dark skinned deep desert bandit/nomad from a tribe who subsisted on raiding both the mining operations, and the trade caravans that travel between the lap, gem, and paragon.
As the life he lead was a cruel one, he'll be fairly skilled in war, but his true love lie in knowledge and every chance he got when inside a city he would pour over as many books as he could.
His Exaltation will have happened while lost in the desert after his raiding party was shattered one day, almost dead from thirst and his wounds.
Invigorated by it, he went on to wander into a long lost manse (going to take the background manse)
Since the whole story isn't written out yet, long story short, half the tribe began to worship him (cult background) and he continued his raids from the manse, using his powers to ensure that his worshippers were well taken care of.
backgrounds will be manse, cult, resources. most likely will have allies/contacts, and maybe artifact.
I have everything done with my character EXCEPT for charms/bonus points spent.
Snowdown: Do you want to do a Night Caste and I can do Twilight? To me it sound like your character would be better suited as a Night Caste, and I'd rather do a Twilight.
Let me take a look at night, and I'll let you know.
I doubt I would really have a problem with it....
what kind of a twilight character were you thinking of?
main reason I chose twilight is cause of the lore, occult stuffs and I was going to have the character be a warrior/sorceror type.....
I wouldn't mind a night caste if I could do archer/sorceror...that might fit the whole bandit lord type thing better.
Night Caste is the steath and trickery caste, as opposed to Twilight which is more occult/scholarly. I guess it depends if you want to focus more on the banditry side of your character or the scholarly side. Highwayman/king of thieves is one of the concepts specifically mentioned for the Night Caste in the book, which is why I was wondering if you wanted to switch.
I can do either Night or Twilight; it's up to you which you want to choose. If I was going for a Twilight character I would go for a straight-up sorcerer/scholar from Gem. As a Night Caste I was thinking of a skilled hunter from one of the nomad tribes in the southern desert, but has been drawn by fate to whatever our starting city is where he is biding his time working as a desert guide for caravans/adventurers.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
So, characters first. Then we'll work out how we met and what our goals are. And then decide which city to start in depending on our goals, correct?
Also: Papillon, you say you'd prefer to start in Gem. How come?
I'm probably not going to have the time to look at books again until tomorrow daytime.
That being said, Papillon, go ahead and take Twilight and I'll do night...I can do a more arabian style bandit leader then and enjoy him just as much...however his sorcery will now probably be a bit darker...will probably take the demon summoning thing if that's not entirely anti Solar.
As for starting? I don't MIND Chiaroscuro, I'd just perfer Gem.....His bandit raids travel the entire south.
I'll likely have allies/contacts within many cities...in order to be able to unload what he pilfers.
however his sorcery will now probably be a bit darker...will probably take the demon summoning thing if that's not entirely anti Solar.
The Solars kicked the ass of the Primordials, and transformed them into the Yozis, trapped in an alternate dimension shaped from the body of their king, their demon-children bound to serve them whenever they call. Demon summoning is decidedly acceptable for Solars(and indeed most sorcerers,) and less harmful to the natural order than summoned elementals by a considerable margin.
The loom of fate had a tricky way of intervening in the lives of those destined for greatness.
Born into the life of a commoner in the minor Conlyth clan on the outskirts of Dragonsmouth on the Blessed Isle, fortune first touched Gyler’s life when his father, a veteran legionnaire, managed to get himself killed in one of the endless and pointless flare-ups of periodic border violence with the Haslanti League.
His misfortune was just unimpressive enough to catch the eye of the esteemed General Cathak Kitano, back then a Dragonlord who had been languishing in the periphery for far too long, most likely due to the Empress recognizing in him the rare combination of ambition and competence, resulting in the decision to keep him as far away from any position of real power as possible.
At the time, his command, the understrength 4th dragon of the 64th legion - “The Aurora Dragon,” more often referred to as “The Blizzard Lizard,” was at an all-time low in morale. This was most assuredly due to the freezing weather and lack of any clear goals in the hellish northern wasteland they were stationed in. In an effort to raise the flagging spirits of the men, the Dragonlord decided to greatly embellish the rather mundane end of the recently fallen soldier, spinning a tale of heroic acts and a glorious death, and granting him a posthumous commendation and an honorary induction into the ranks of the patricians.
The resulting status and windfall that came to Gyler and his mother allowed the boy to attend primary school alongside the ranks of the fellow patricians and dragon-blooded, where the record of his father’s glorious death in battle – no less than saving the very life of the General himself - was enough to let him hang out at lunchtime with the dynasts of the house of Cathak, as well as secure his passage into a minor military academy, whereupon graduating as a newly-commissioned Scalelord, he was deployed to come bolster the 47th legion in Harborhead.
At around that time, the 47th had recently come under the command of General Cathak Lazera, who had purged the ranks of officers he deemed slothful and inept, creating a surplus of openings. While the General was known for being a wise and disciplined leader who valued loyalty to the realm above all, he wasn’t above a little nepotism, stuffing the ranks with members of his own family. One of these newcomers was the also-newly commissioned fire-aspected exalt, Talonlord Cathak Kailina.
Fresh out of the Cloister of Wisdom herself, she was pleased to discover Scalelord Conlyth Gyler’s name on a long list of potential underlings. Kailina had remembered the charismatic redheaded youth that had helped her rather dim brother cheat on his entrance exams to the House of Bells, and now years later, she saw an ideal chance to find a capable and loyal subordinate as well as a familiar face from the old days.
And so the months passed by in Harborhead, this being roughly the same time that the Empress disappeared. Whereas Gyler was taking to his new position quite well, benefiting from his practical training in military matters at a no-frills officer’s school, Kailina found that her sheltered immaculate upbringing and education at the Cloister of Wisdom had not well adapted her to life in the satrapies. She found her duties in the southern cities to be boring and monotonous - the near-daily parades designed to strut the realm’s ever weakening might, the deplorable people of Harborhead who seemed to have nothing but bigotry and vitriol bottled up inside of them, the and worst of all, the constant and endless paperwork. Kailina saw herself as a learned poet, not a simple bureaucrat or soldier, and would complain loudly and frequently about this to Gyler, sometimes as a means to vent, and at other times as an entreaty for him to pick up her slack.
It did not take too long for this state of affairs to establish itself into a true affair, where in a sort of quid-pro-quo situation, the two became lovers. Gyler continued in the tradition of helping the Cathaks cheat at their duties, surreptitiously taking over most of the concerns of the talon. This wasn’t to say that they weren’t fond of each other – she was both beautiful and her claims of poetic skill were well founded, and she saw him as not only handsome and keen-minded, but she also secretly and greatly desired an opportunity to mortify her immaculate parents with the eventual rumors of her rebellious ways.
And so more time passed. The rumors did spread, but to Kailina’s dismay, not everybody was as steeped in immaculate tradition as she was, and didn’t seemed to find it especially egregious that a young dragon-blooded dynast might have a secret lover. Her superiors didn’t mind ignoring the rumors either, seeing how efficiently she was running her small corner of the legion, and eventually promoted her to a more sensitive position in the affairs of Harborhead. Naturally, she managed to ensure that her by-now invaluable subordinate was reassigned and promoted as well.
The two found themselves stationed as military advisors to the Totikari people, the black-skinned nomads of Harborhead who favor the raising of cattle and the worship of Ahlat. Ever since the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, the five people of Harborhead have increasingly militarized and factionalized themselves, preparing for the day when the Realm weakens enough and all-out war breaks out between the tribes, consuming the nation in a bloodbath of racial violence. The true jobs of the representatives of the realm was to observe and report on the military build-up, in order to ensure that no one people gains enough power to overcome the others and pose a threat to the rule of the satrapy.
That fateful day might have occurred much sooner, was it not for the intervention of Ahlat and the Unconquered Sun.
While observing a meeting of the twenty chiefs of the scattered Totikari tribes, a trap was sprung by an unlikely alliance their rivals. The token scouts on the periphery of the small village in which they had secretly gathered for their council were swept away. This was not a simple slave or cattle raid, but a targeted ambush meant to decapitate the leadership of the entire Totikari people. In excess of a thousand fanatical warriors willing to give their lives swept through the village from all sides, guarded by merely a hundred warriors of the Totikari.
Gyler and Kailina were helpless to act – her immaculate training and his handy work with a flame piece were enough to hold back many of them, but what could a lone terrestrial exalt and a mere mortal do to stop such an army before the chiefs had their heads on spears? Even if the two of them managed to survive, they would surely be held responsible for this rout by the Satrap.
The hundred defenders fell back to the center of the village towards where their wizened leaders gathered, aware that the odds were hopelessly against them. One by one, they fell to their knees in prayer to Ahlat for their people’s salvation. Through some supernatural cause, they at once knew what they must do, and together they offered their lives, a hetacomb of men, to Ahlat for his intervention.
It was not just Ahlat who was watching, but the Unconquered Sun as well, who smiled upon the defenders, and resolved to grant an exaltation to the lone valorous mortal still fighting to defend the people for whom their warriors have given their lives for.
At once, the bright light of the unconquered sun flashed, enveloping the village in its golden hue, stunning the circled mortal attackers and striking them momentarily blind. The glittering caste mark of the sun’s dawn flashed as the nearest hundred were turned to nothing but blackened bones in eight rapid-fire jets of searing flames in all directions, fired over the prostrate heads of the tribal elders, bowed down in the presence of Solar glory. Warriors abandoned weapons and armor, turning and scattering at the sight of the devastation. At the center of everything stood Gyler, the caste mark of the lightbringer shining on his forehead and a raging inferno of golden essence surrounding him.
Kailina tried to blink away the tears from the intense heat. And then she too faltered, and turned, and ran.
And then Gyler holstered his flame piece and started walking the other way.
My character will have a Manse, somewhere between 3 and 5 points likely.
However, my character is on my home PC and I forgot to boot it up this morning so I could RDP in and finish him from work.
So.....tomorrow!
Sorry guys.
On a side note, Pap...Since we're both Desert Nomads, our backgrounds could tie in...and if you wanted to drop some bonus points to bump it from 3-5, I wouldn't complain.
Posts
Wrong-ish. You're thinking 1st edition Exalted/oWoD, which used a much more roll-heavy system. 2e Exalted uses skill+stat rolls, fixed target number of 7, with 10s counting double. Enemy defenses are static values that either subtract from your successes or your diepool(Defense Values from Successes, Soak from the dice pool)
Anyhow, re: Plutonium, it's less that Exalts hit hard, and more that you don't want to be hurt at all. Someone with high strength and a big weapon will tear through your armor if they hit you, someone with low strength and some knives is going to have to ping you to death, or hope you aren't a Lunar with Invulnerable Moonsilver Carapace. Essence Ping does make it very hard to create a soak-based character, but soak will keep you alive for a hit or two, which is, obviously, important.
Depends on what you guys want to do. A perfect circle is obviously more interesting, as far as First Age incarnation history goes, and it provides the old 'drawn together by fate' excuse, but if you want to put extra time and effort into backstories, you guys could be five night castes for all I care. I'm waiting to see what your characters are before I lay any serious plans.
Gonna lay down the law tomorrow!
I'll make my choice of players and lay down what I'm looking for as far as circle/chargen goes. Remember, the more you tell me about what you want from the campaign, the more likely I am to choose you, because, you know, if you're putting input in here, it indicates that you want to give input in the game itself.
That's a bit of a simplification -- more like I don't want to be pussy-footing around. I've been interested in Exalted for a while, but the only time I managed to get involved in a game, it was on these very boards. The game got stuck in Introduction Hell, and the GM lost interest. I don't want a repeat of that. I want to play Exalted so I can cut people into little pieces in creative and interesting ways with big, shiny, pointed sticks and over the top special effects^H^H^Hsorcery.
Re: Demesenes. I think if someone is playing a sorcerer they would want to start out controlling a Manse, if allowed. Sorcery uses a lot of essence.
Well, there's running around and hiding for the hell of it, and then there's being subtle because you don't want the entire world after you. I certainly don't intend to slap you in the face every time your caste mark glows, but if you wander into Paragon with a big sword and start chopping people in half then the Realm is gonna drop on your ass.
Chiaroscuro is an interesting case in point for something like that, because if you're subtle about being a Solar, and don't flash your powers in front of Dragon-Blooded(at least not without killing them) you'll be fine, but just one wrong step can bring a Wyld Hunt down on your ass if you flash the wrong person in public.
If you're deep in the desert and battling demons, though... that same Dragon-Blooded will probably cut you some slack as long as you don't get all buddy-buddy with him. It's all circumstantial, really, and as I've said before, the Realm's reach only extends along the coast. Beyond that, it's whatever the locals can round up for a Hunt, and if there's not enough they're not going to risk their lives to do it.
Of course, if the Realm were paying attention, they could make an example of one of the plotters and scare everyone else back in line before the powderkeg ignites. But before they get their ducks in a row, along come five Solars who (intentionally? accidentally?) provoke the plotters into moving right now for fear of the Solars upsetting their plans. All it takes is one ruler to use the Solars in some way and suddenly everybody else has to unite to contest that power lest they end up on the sharp end of the stick.
And voila, open war all throughout the South with the Solars caught in the middle. Who do they support? Do they care? What if the Realm attacks? Or any of the other inhuman threats?
I kind of picture it like A Game Of Thrones, except five of us get to play Ser Arthur Dayne.
Yeah, I get that, and I'm fine with playing subtle if the situation calls for it. But I also want the chances to go to town on someone. Basically I'm looking for a balance. This is what I'm trying to clarify -- I get the impression that you think I'm looking for only a hack and slash type gameplay, which is not the case.
with mad wire fu right?
!!
But that's just my thoughts. Political intrigue leading to great big fights. With the cover of rebellion to put everyone in fear of the Realm, so we have a bit of a common ground with the NPCs.
My character concept is coming together quite nicely, at least backstory wise. I'd like to play a Zenith from the Blessed Isle who, in a here-and-now motivation, wants to destroy or humiliate the nearest branch of the Immaculate Order. Basically, having been raised as Dragonborn, he was a devout believer in the Immaculate Philosophy, and becoming an Exalted champion of the Realm was his greatest wish. And then, whoops! He gets Exalted and not only is it for the wrong team, but he has this great personal revelation from the Unconquered Sun telling him in no uncertain terms how he should live his life as a Solar. So he decides the only way he can reconcile his beliefs with becoming a Solar is for him to do what the Immaculate Philosophy tells him that Solars do: Disobey the Realm in every way possible. Because to do anything else would put the lie to the Order's teachings.
Of course, not wanting to step on Undead's (related to Dragonborn) or Egos' (playing a Zenith) toes here. I can switch some things up, it just so happened that everything fell in place in regards to setting with the way I just wrote it.
We've got 9 people who've said they're interested, and one who's posted to the thread, but unless I missed it never said they're interested.
Simulacrum, last post 7/7 said he's interested, but needs the books...dunno if he's gotten ahold of them
Papillion last post 7/8, is interested in playing a Dawn Caste Daiklave wielder.
Udjat_Eye last post 7/7 is down, has said what setting he wants, but no character interests yet.
Me, 7/8, am currently reading the book, Pondering playing a Twilight Caste.
Egos, 7/8 said maybe depending on schedule, is interested in a zenith robin hood, hook swords look cool.
Undead Unicorn, 7/7 is definitely in, eclipse caste
Plutonium 7/7 wants to play a daiklave and firewand wielding dawn or night caste
Hotran 7/8 wants to play a range focused night caste
Ringo 7/8 wants to play a Zenith ex dragonborn
ArcanisTheImpotent posted, but I dunno if he's interested in playing.
Still would like to play a Night Caste. As a mortal, he'd been a sort of constable/investigator in one of the larger Southern cities (definitely tweakable depending on where we decide to start, but say Chiarascuro for kicks). I'm thinking of him being employed/attached to a small temple, and tasked with generally keeping the worst-of-the-worst from happening in a neighborhood where just plain awfulness is going to go down no matter what. He's not a bad detective, and he's had some successes, but more often than he'd like he ends up following a particular trail only to find out that it leads to people he can't touch. Maybe they've paid the right people off, maybe they are too well-connected to go after without putting his friends/family/organization in danger, that sort of thing.
Now comes Exaltation. The Unconquered Sun has not only given him the power to go after those that were beyond his power before, but has instructed him that he damn well better do so and do it now! Again, don't want to get too specific before we've fleshed out the exact where and whens of the starting city. My thought is that he's got partial memories of his First Age past, as a spy/"special-ops"-type working at the edge of armies, taking out command and control folks and generally wreaking suprise mayhem behind the lines. Again, I'm a fan of the Perfect Circle idea, or barring that, Solars that have at least fuzzy memories of each other from the First Age that come into play in the here and now.
Really quick post, but all I've got time for at the moment =(.
I'd like to play in a campaign that involves an intertwined evolving story, overarching with many tieins, and "ooohs", epic type feel (in the sense that it affects the lives of many but does not have to be epic in a sense of saving the entire world, or somesuch nonsense, could be local)
I'd like to experience a mixture of larger warfare and smaller personal group to group, or even solo to solo warfare...possibly due to challenges, etc.
I'd like to see maneuvering, manipulation, and politics, but I'm not sure how it could fit my character concept....doubt he'd be involved in it much.
I'd like to see the campaign travel past local boundaries...since this is my first exalted experience, i'd like to visit multiple locales and "regions" to get a piece of the entire flavor. (the west, the west! and the east maybe)
And finally, and probably most importantly to me and my character concept. I'd like to rediscover/experience first age magics and artifacts, etc.
The character concept that I'd like to play is a Twilight Caste Warrior-Scholar/Sage
Obsessed with rediscovering/reclaiming/rebuilding artifacts of the first age.
With the creation notes that I've got so far, his conviction towards that drive will be fairly high (3, maybe 4)
His skills will support finding, reclaiming, and if required rebuilding....so craft...investigation, lore, occult, linguistics.....with supporting abilities of melee/war/presence when force is necessary.
Backgrounds I'm thinking of are artifact, backing possibly or cult, manse, and resources. (I like backing idea, but would need help fleshing out a society that may support his goals)
I haven't decided on charms yet.
Will you be rolling this stuff for us, Rainfall?
I've been thinking about my concept, and I've decided to go with a Dawn Caste, an ambitious, visionary, mastermind-type character. His primary virtue will be valor, and his backstory is that through a combination of his own talent for both command and political maneuverings, he was a rising star in the Imperial Army with the patronage of House Cathak.
A Winglord in the 47th legion stationed at Harborhead, his exaltation came when he was spotted by Ahlat while acting as a "neutral observer" for the realm during an occurrence of the periodic bloody tribal warfare plaguing the region, where his quick thinking and even quicker draw with a firewand prevented what might have been a rout, instead ensuring that the conflict descended into a war of attrition where neither side emerged in any position of dominance and able to challenge the realm's control of the region. Ahlat passed on this information to the Unconquered Sun, and after 6-8 weeks for delivery, he was granted a solar exaltation.
Of course, Harborhead isn't a safe place for a newly-exalted Solar, so he managed to skip town, perhaps leaving behind a life that might catch up to him. He isn't really idealistic, he sees the Unconquered Sun rather as a much more powerful patron which serves to hasten his dramatic elevation among the beings of creation.
He's going to be pretty well-rounded in a lot of his attributes, with focuses as well as charms in Melee, Archery (firewand specialty), War, Presence, and Socialize.
It's not really a problem to roll even large amounts of dice. There's a few dice rolling programs online.
I personally recommend Infidel's fantastic website at http://4e.orokos.com/roll, where he's generously built in an Exalted function. You create an account which stores all your rolls so everyone can see that nothing's being fudged.
You want to use the command "Zd10x7" , where Z is the number of dice you're rolling, ten is the number of sides on the dice, and x7 being an exalted modifier which counts 7+ as successes, and 10s as two successes.
Test Roll: 20d10x7 7
or
Attack roll (Dex 4 + Melee 5 + Acc 3): 12d10x7 8
I'm with ringo
How many other of us are exalted newbies?
I'm gonna really have to pour over these combat and dice mechanics....maneuvers, etc.
It does take a little getting used to, and so I'm not going to throw you into battle against really tough foes straightaway, obviously. I've got an alternate ruleset waiting in the wings if the game's going well but the rules aren't, so don't panic!
I found a nice web-based character sheet that you can clicky to fill out.
Here.
Tony Leung Chiu Way is an awesome actor if thats who you are talking about. He is great in just about every movie I've seen him in O_O
Cyclo, Ashes of Time and any other War Kong Wai movie. But Ashes of Time is the most related to this type of setting by a long song. Since the others are mostly (romance themed) mood pieces.
Udjat_Eye
Plutonium
Snowdown
Ringo
Papillon
(If anyone doesn't participate to my satisfaction during the creation process, I'll swap out for one of the others, and notify via a PM.)
The five of you will be battling against fate, the odds, communism, fascism, demons, undead, undead demons, and whatever else I see fit.
How are we going to do this?
1. The Circle
Everyone already knows everyone else. Fuck introduction hell. We're probably going to start in the middle of a battle or something, because that's cool and less lame.
So, the obvious questions. How did you meet the circle/everyone else? Why are you sticking together? What does the Circle, as a whole, wish to accomplish?
That last one is very important, it's going to set the tone/objective of the entire first portion of the game. Once you complete that goal we get to set a new one.
2. The Locale
Where are you guys starting? You want to be close to your goal, obviously, so this follows after step 1. What Connections, Resources, Allies, and Mentors do you have in the area? What Intimacies connect you to the area, if any? Feel free to add detailing to the locale, for example some information about a realm satrapy or desert tribe that is close to Chiaroscuro, or even a district/organization within a city.
3. The Individual
Everyone needs a character sheet, obviously. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you define your Limit Break and your Limit Break Condition. It is also VERY IMPORTANT that you define a Motivation and Intimacies. Your Motivation should tie into the Circle Objective in some way, and it shouldn't be a grand encompassing thing(Overthrow the Realm is a stupid motivation. Overthrow the local Realm Satrapy is more reasonable.)
INTIMACIES ARE CRUCIAL! You must define all your intimacies. Intimacies to people and places are far more ideal than intimacies to your items. Feel free to have an Intimacy to your Solar Circle, although it would probably be more appropriate to have an Intimacy to a single member of the Circle that you get along well with. Remember, Intimacies aren't motivations, they're just a mechanically-rooted way to say that you care about your family/horse/hometown/close friends.
4. Advantages
This is a separate step from the Individual. If you have a Manse, Connections, Allies, Mentors, or Resources, they should be detailed separately, since they impact the game in a unique way. What do they represent? Where are they? What do they do? I'll write up sheets for Allies and Mentors, but I need to know who they are and what they do. Resources is an income stream, what is yours? Connections can be a lot more general, but a couple of specifics are always nice.
And of course, a Manse can be a home base for an entire Circle. You can pool Background Points for a manse! Just remember that whoever's paying for the last two points still has to cash in bonus points if you want to go all the way up to five dots, and there's only one Hearthstone.
Artifacts and Manses aren't as much fun as other backgrounds. As a personal request, don't overload on them. I'd rather see Backgrounds that have you interacting with the world.
I'll whip up another post here in a moment with some general Southy flavor text to add a bit more context over the barebones in the corebook, but feel free to get started on building the circle, anything you add to Creation in this part of the process is going to stick.
Once a carefully-modeled miracle of Exalted engineering, allowing mortals to live in parts of the South normally so hot that they would die simply from exposure to raw heat, the South has fallen far. Now, the Realm controls coastal satrapies, and the Great Southern Desert is inhabited by nothing more than harsh nomads and wandering tribes.
A few great powers have arisen from the ashes of the Great Contagion and the Fae Incursion. The City of Paragon, ruled by the immortal Perfect, holds more than a million people inside its borders, all with supernaturally-enforced loyalty to their wise and ancient leader.
The God-controlled land of Harborhead, controlled by Ahlat, the God of Cattle and Southern God of War, and his daughter, Blood on the Horn, is theoretically ruled by the Realm, but constant rebellion and a hostile, fiercely traditional people make it the least-desired posting across the entire span of the Scarlet Empire's rule.
The Lap is a peaceful place, farming underneath the shadow of the Last Supplicant, a massive statue of a meditating man, raised in the First Age by Exalts for a long-forgotten purpose. Its people want nothing more than peace and continued life, but the Last Supplicant draws grand schemes from powerful foes, and as the Realm weakens, it is sure to fall in the crossfire of warring nations.
The grand city of Chiaroscuro has risen from its destruction to once again become the hub of trading in the South, capital of the Delzhan Empire. Free from the Realm, ruled with a light hand by its tribal masters, Chiaroscuro is truly a place where many seek their fortune, hunting long-forgotten First Age secrets amidst the deadly ruins of shattered glass towers in the inner city.
An-Teng is a contrast to Harborhead, a peaceful Satrapy ruled by the realm, with hundreds of years of hidden secrets and tension hidden beneath the surface. While they love the Realm in theory, dark powers and hidden agendas stir beneath their calm exterior.
The city of Gem is a power deep in the desert, mining incalculably valuable stones from deep beneath the Fire Mountains. Although they wish to remain neutral, their wealth makes them a very tempting target for any aspiring southern warlord, and if the South erupts into violence, they will undoubtedly be dragged into it. Their dependence on the Lap for their food supply makes them vulnerable, a key weakness that almost any enemy could exploit.
Finally, the Varangian City-States lie in a dangerous place between the Delzhan Empire and Harborhead, their society dictated entirely by astrological predictions, forcing people into castes and slavery due to predictions made at their birth. On the verge of a revolution, without the protection of the Realm they will surely fall into chaos in a moment's notice.
And so, as the Scarlet Empress disappears, and the Realm looks inwards, stripping the wealth of the South to fuel the upcoming Dynastic Civil War without a care for longevity, war threatens to break out. Into this mix, the Solar Exalts arrive, pushing the South well beyond the boiling point that it currently hangs on.
Pluto - Dawn
Udjat - Eclipse
Ringo - Zenith
Snowdown - Twilight
Papillon - Dawn or Twilight?
I'm going to post a character sheet and a more detailed background in a little bit. Once we've all gotten the basics of our backgrounds down, we should figure out how we all met, how we feel about one another, etc.
Is there anything we need to make sure at least one person in the group has? e.g. Social skills, sorcery, manse, ...
There seems to be some interest in war. If that's the case, may I suggest the first thing to do is one or all of:
1) Search for some First-Age artifacts,
2) Establish a sizable warchest, and/or
3) Find a patron who wants to create trouble for the Realm.
Edit: I was just looking at weapons: apparently Sais are cheaper when you're clinched. "Sir, you look like you're in trouble. Buy my half price Sais?"
I was also thinking on making a more rounded character. Hmm...
As far as virtue/motivation, I was going with Conviction and that the Realm/Immaculate Order must be proven to be superior by resisting the power of the Solars to change it. To that end, encouraging a state of open rebellion would be in line with his goals though I think I'd rather we be first tasked with something smaller (merely freeing Paragon from the Perfect's control by involving them in open war?)
I was thinking of doing something along the line of a desert nomad who's been drawn to <<city>> by fate. He's biding his time by hiring himself out as a desert guide to caravans and adventurers.
As the life he lead was a cruel one, he'll be fairly skilled in war, but his true love lie in knowledge and every chance he got when inside a city he would pour over as many books as he could.
His Exaltation will have happened while lost in the desert after his raiding party was shattered one day, almost dead from thirst and his wounds.
Invigorated by it, he went on to wander into a long lost manse (going to take the background manse)
Since the whole story isn't written out yet, long story short, half the tribe began to worship him (cult background) and he continued his raids from the manse, using his powers to ensure that his worshippers were well taken care of.
backgrounds will be manse, cult, resources. most likely will have allies/contacts, and maybe artifact.
I have everything done with my character EXCEPT for charms/bonus points spent.
I doubt I would really have a problem with it....
what kind of a twilight character were you thinking of?
main reason I chose twilight is cause of the lore, occult stuffs and I was going to have the character be a warrior/sorceror type.....
I wouldn't mind a night caste if I could do archer/sorceror...that might fit the whole bandit lord type thing better.
Night Caste is the steath and trickery caste, as opposed to Twilight which is more occult/scholarly. I guess it depends if you want to focus more on the banditry side of your character or the scholarly side. Highwayman/king of thieves is one of the concepts specifically mentioned for the Night Caste in the book, which is why I was wondering if you wanted to switch.
I can do either Night or Twilight; it's up to you which you want to choose. If I was going for a Twilight character I would go for a straight-up sorcerer/scholar from Gem. As a Night Caste I was thinking of a skilled hunter from one of the nomad tribes in the southern desert, but has been drawn by fate to whatever our starting city is where he is biding his time working as a desert guide for caravans/adventurers.
Also: Papillon, you say you'd prefer to start in Gem. How come?
Also, you guys should check out EdExalted for your char-gen needs. Just make sure that the charms and artifacts you pick are from the core.
That being said, Papillon, go ahead and take Twilight and I'll do night...I can do a more arabian style bandit leader then and enjoy him just as much...however his sorcery will now probably be a bit darker...will probably take the demon summoning thing if that's not entirely anti Solar.
As for starting? I don't MIND Chiaroscuro, I'd just perfer Gem.....His bandit raids travel the entire south.
I'll likely have allies/contacts within many cities...in order to be able to unload what he pilfers.
The Solars kicked the ass of the Primordials, and transformed them into the Yozis, trapped in an alternate dimension shaped from the body of their king, their demon-children bound to serve them whenever they call. Demon summoning is decidedly acceptable for Solars(and indeed most sorcerers,) and less harmful to the natural order than summoned elementals by a considerable margin.
It just looks like more fun to be closer to the border to me. That said, I don't mind between the two.
(warning, text)
The loom of fate had a tricky way of intervening in the lives of those destined for greatness.
Born into the life of a commoner in the minor Conlyth clan on the outskirts of Dragonsmouth on the Blessed Isle, fortune first touched Gyler’s life when his father, a veteran legionnaire, managed to get himself killed in one of the endless and pointless flare-ups of periodic border violence with the Haslanti League.
His misfortune was just unimpressive enough to catch the eye of the esteemed General Cathak Kitano, back then a Dragonlord who had been languishing in the periphery for far too long, most likely due to the Empress recognizing in him the rare combination of ambition and competence, resulting in the decision to keep him as far away from any position of real power as possible.
At the time, his command, the understrength 4th dragon of the 64th legion - “The Aurora Dragon,” more often referred to as “The Blizzard Lizard,” was at an all-time low in morale. This was most assuredly due to the freezing weather and lack of any clear goals in the hellish northern wasteland they were stationed in. In an effort to raise the flagging spirits of the men, the Dragonlord decided to greatly embellish the rather mundane end of the recently fallen soldier, spinning a tale of heroic acts and a glorious death, and granting him a posthumous commendation and an honorary induction into the ranks of the patricians.
The resulting status and windfall that came to Gyler and his mother allowed the boy to attend primary school alongside the ranks of the fellow patricians and dragon-blooded, where the record of his father’s glorious death in battle – no less than saving the very life of the General himself - was enough to let him hang out at lunchtime with the dynasts of the house of Cathak, as well as secure his passage into a minor military academy, whereupon graduating as a newly-commissioned Scalelord, he was deployed to come bolster the 47th legion in Harborhead.
At around that time, the 47th had recently come under the command of General Cathak Lazera, who had purged the ranks of officers he deemed slothful and inept, creating a surplus of openings. While the General was known for being a wise and disciplined leader who valued loyalty to the realm above all, he wasn’t above a little nepotism, stuffing the ranks with members of his own family. One of these newcomers was the also-newly commissioned fire-aspected exalt, Talonlord Cathak Kailina.
Fresh out of the Cloister of Wisdom herself, she was pleased to discover Scalelord Conlyth Gyler’s name on a long list of potential underlings. Kailina had remembered the charismatic redheaded youth that had helped her rather dim brother cheat on his entrance exams to the House of Bells, and now years later, she saw an ideal chance to find a capable and loyal subordinate as well as a familiar face from the old days.
And so the months passed by in Harborhead, this being roughly the same time that the Empress disappeared. Whereas Gyler was taking to his new position quite well, benefiting from his practical training in military matters at a no-frills officer’s school, Kailina found that her sheltered immaculate upbringing and education at the Cloister of Wisdom had not well adapted her to life in the satrapies. She found her duties in the southern cities to be boring and monotonous - the near-daily parades designed to strut the realm’s ever weakening might, the deplorable people of Harborhead who seemed to have nothing but bigotry and vitriol bottled up inside of them, the and worst of all, the constant and endless paperwork. Kailina saw herself as a learned poet, not a simple bureaucrat or soldier, and would complain loudly and frequently about this to Gyler, sometimes as a means to vent, and at other times as an entreaty for him to pick up her slack.
It did not take too long for this state of affairs to establish itself into a true affair, where in a sort of quid-pro-quo situation, the two became lovers. Gyler continued in the tradition of helping the Cathaks cheat at their duties, surreptitiously taking over most of the concerns of the talon. This wasn’t to say that they weren’t fond of each other – she was both beautiful and her claims of poetic skill were well founded, and she saw him as not only handsome and keen-minded, but she also secretly and greatly desired an opportunity to mortify her immaculate parents with the eventual rumors of her rebellious ways.
And so more time passed. The rumors did spread, but to Kailina’s dismay, not everybody was as steeped in immaculate tradition as she was, and didn’t seemed to find it especially egregious that a young dragon-blooded dynast might have a secret lover. Her superiors didn’t mind ignoring the rumors either, seeing how efficiently she was running her small corner of the legion, and eventually promoted her to a more sensitive position in the affairs of Harborhead. Naturally, she managed to ensure that her by-now invaluable subordinate was reassigned and promoted as well.
The two found themselves stationed as military advisors to the Totikari people, the black-skinned nomads of Harborhead who favor the raising of cattle and the worship of Ahlat. Ever since the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, the five people of Harborhead have increasingly militarized and factionalized themselves, preparing for the day when the Realm weakens enough and all-out war breaks out between the tribes, consuming the nation in a bloodbath of racial violence. The true jobs of the representatives of the realm was to observe and report on the military build-up, in order to ensure that no one people gains enough power to overcome the others and pose a threat to the rule of the satrapy.
That fateful day might have occurred much sooner, was it not for the intervention of Ahlat and the Unconquered Sun.
While observing a meeting of the twenty chiefs of the scattered Totikari tribes, a trap was sprung by an unlikely alliance their rivals. The token scouts on the periphery of the small village in which they had secretly gathered for their council were swept away. This was not a simple slave or cattle raid, but a targeted ambush meant to decapitate the leadership of the entire Totikari people. In excess of a thousand fanatical warriors willing to give their lives swept through the village from all sides, guarded by merely a hundred warriors of the Totikari.
Gyler and Kailina were helpless to act – her immaculate training and his handy work with a flame piece were enough to hold back many of them, but what could a lone terrestrial exalt and a mere mortal do to stop such an army before the chiefs had their heads on spears? Even if the two of them managed to survive, they would surely be held responsible for this rout by the Satrap.
The hundred defenders fell back to the center of the village towards where their wizened leaders gathered, aware that the odds were hopelessly against them. One by one, they fell to their knees in prayer to Ahlat for their people’s salvation. Through some supernatural cause, they at once knew what they must do, and together they offered their lives, a hetacomb of men, to Ahlat for his intervention.
It was not just Ahlat who was watching, but the Unconquered Sun as well, who smiled upon the defenders, and resolved to grant an exaltation to the lone valorous mortal still fighting to defend the people for whom their warriors have given their lives for.
At once, the bright light of the unconquered sun flashed, enveloping the village in its golden hue, stunning the circled mortal attackers and striking them momentarily blind. The glittering caste mark of the sun’s dawn flashed as the nearest hundred were turned to nothing but blackened bones in eight rapid-fire jets of searing flames in all directions, fired over the prostrate heads of the tribal elders, bowed down in the presence of Solar glory. Warriors abandoned weapons and armor, turning and scattering at the sight of the devastation. At the center of everything stood Gyler, the caste mark of the lightbringer shining on his forehead and a raging inferno of golden essence surrounding him.
Kailina tried to blink away the tears from the intense heat. And then she too faltered, and turned, and ran.
And then Gyler holstered his flame piece and started walking the other way.
Question: If I'm not incapacitated or dying, can I use Wound-Mending Care Technique on myself?
Edit: Also, what are we doing as far as a manse/manses? I have potentially a background point and 2 bonus points I'm looking to spend.
However, my character is on my home PC and I forgot to boot it up this morning so I could RDP in and finish him from work.
So.....tomorrow!
Sorry guys.
On a side note, Pap...Since we're both Desert Nomads, our backgrounds could tie in...and if you wanted to drop some bonus points to bump it from 3-5, I wouldn't complain.