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.
Since I switched to Twilight I've changed my background to be a researcher from house Arbani in Gem. As far as the House is concerned, I'm researching and exploring First Age ruins for ways to improve firewands. It's still possible we would have met as I will have spent time in the desert on expeditions.
I'll have to check my sheet when I get home, but if I remember correctly I have up to 1 point of background and 2 bonus points to spend. You need to use 2 bp for each point after 3, so I could bump from 3-4.
We could have met around the manse -- I was following some leads when I came across this manse. You followed me and tried to storm the manse, but between my sorcery and the protections of the manse itself, I was able to hold you off, so we reached an agreement. I would turn over the manse to you, and in exchange you would allow me to also attune the manse and agree to not attack me (and my crew) during my expeditions.
Well, I could be tweaking until the cows come home, so here's my character so far. Please give me some feedback.
Seeker of Flame Twilight Caste
Motivation: Become a (the most?) powerful sorcerer
Background:
Seeker of Flame is a minor member of House Arbani who has managed to convince the powers that be that there is value in researching the First Age with an aim to improve the design of firewands. He's had mixed success so far, having made enough progress for them to provide him with a stipend to support his research, but not enough to keep him from being the butt of unfair comparisons with his much more successful younger sister, who's working as a representative for the House in Churiscuro.
He mostly ignores those comparisons, if only because he knows he's not making as much progress as he could. In truth, his research is cover for his more general curiosity about all things relating to the First Age, particularly sorcery. It was during one of his disastrous (according to the House) expeditions that he received his Exaltation. He had been researching First Age cities when he found references to an outpost located just south of what was now the city of Gem. Intrigued, he set out to investigate. What he found, was a manse.
After several days of investigation, and the unfortunate loss of some slaves, he finally made his way inside. There he was immediately drawn to the library. Although much of it was ruined, he was able to discern it had contained secrets of Solar sorcery. Excited, he read on, but he could figure out nothing else; he could read the words, but the text made no sense. Weeks passed, but he was still no closer to understanding anything in the library.
Dejected, he prepared to return to Gem. However, the guard he had posted was missing and a bandit was making his way through the manse's defenses. Inconceivable! This was his find, and he wasn't going to share it. He drew his firepieces and let them rip at the intruder. But the intruder moved faster than he would ever have dreamed possible and just...stepped...out of the way. His act of defiance did not go unnoticed however. The room began to glow, and he suddenly understood exactly how the defenses worked, and the sorcery he had been studying became clear. With his new-found knowledge, he was finally able to force the intruder to withdraw.
The intruder and his band were still encamped around the manse, so they were at an impasse: the intruder was also a Solar. Finally they agreed to a deal: the other Solar would get possession of the manse, but he would receive free access, and protection on his expeditions. Not a good deal, but it would have to suffice -- for now.
Sheet:
Essence: ooo
Personal pool: 16, Peripheral pool: 38
Anima: A pillar of pure flame
Virtues: Conviction 4, Compassion 1, Valor 3, Temperance 2
Intimacy: Younger sister, who's a representative of House Arbani in Churiscuro
Charms:
First Dodge Excellency
Second Lore Excellency
Seven Shadow Evasion (Conviction Flaw)
Shadow Over Water
Ox-Body Technique (1 -1 level, 2 -2 levels)
Essence-Gathering Temper
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Death of Obsidian Butterflies
Emerald Countermagic
Invulnerable Skin of Bronze
Equipment: 2 Flame Pieces, Chain Shirt, appropriate survival equipment for a desert, walking staff, whatever else I can afford but can't think of right now.
Alright, a few things I noticed, and some feedback
First, your character's name. Are you fine with the rest of us calling you "Seeker?" I'd think that as a member of House Arbani, you also have a name along the lines of "Arbani something." It's not a huge thing.
Secondly, the motivation. It's very broad, and it isn't really the kind of "smaller thing" that Rain was looking for. He already has a keen fascination with the First Age - perhaps he wants to unlock the secrets of the Manse he's discovered, or maybe he's found a clue in the Manse that will lead him and his fellow Solars to further secrets of the first age?
As of now, what we've got from your character's background is a bit of a blank slate with a sister and a family. If his sister's been a big part of his life, elaborate upon it. What's her name? What did she do to become successful in contract to your character? Why is your character so fascinated with the first age?
Now, on to the character sheet.
The first thing I noticed is that your ability to fight is rather diminished. While sorcery is fun, offensive sorcery isn't really the sort of thing that's too useful in a more personal fight, especially one involving any allies in the area. You're going to want to be able to do better than karate-chopping on seven attack dice, or shooting a flame piece on six. Even if you get off a Butterflies, you're only rolling six dice with three autos on 8L of damage dice, which isn't exactly impressive.
One of the themes of the Solar exalted is that they do everything better than mortals, and then are right at the edge of the absolute best in creation at a few things. You want to be great at something, and then accentuate that with charms. Right now, it seems like you're great at Lore, but you haven't really sunk in many charms to take advantage of that. If you want to be a powerful sorcerer, then starting off with Occult 3 is going to really hinder you. I don't really see a situation where you would be using First Dodge when you have SSE, and I'm not sure why a you have resistance 1 and survival 3, and then take two resistance charms and none in survival. You want to be able to show off how great you are at the things you can do really well.
Last thing - I'm not sure if we're playing with the Twilight anima nerf or not, though at least for me, an alarm bell goes off when I see a Twilight Caste with Essence-Gathering Temper and an armor buff like Invulnerable Skin of Bronze.
Conlyth Gyler, Heaven's Winglord
Player: Plutonium
Dawn Caste
Anima Banner: Gold and Blue spinning rings of runes surround him, the glyphs formed of pulsating essence and written in a language known to none but the Unconquered Sun.
Motivation: To plunge the nations of the South into swift and deciding conflicts, sparing the millions that would perish in decade-long power struggles.
Essence OO
Personal Pool:12/12
Peripheral Pool 24/29 (5 attuned)
Limit Break Condition: The Solar's plots are foiled, he suffers a setback, underestimates a foe, an underling or ally fails him, or other similar situations occur.
For one scene, the Solar takes matters into his own hands. "Do I have to do everything myself!" he cries as conventional wisdom and prudent judgment be damned, the exalt throws himself into success at this specific goal or task, ignoring all other matters until whatever thwarting him is dealt with. Whether this means leading a cavalry charge into a wall of hardened defenders that have already thrown back wave after wave, or poring hours into solving an elaborately vexing puzzle or riddle, it will get done, come heaven or high water.
Partial Control: The Solar can be roused temporarily from his current fixation to tend to events of critical importance or of an exceptionally distracting nature. However, the obsession lingers in the back of his mind, inflicting a -2 external penalty to any non-fixation-related actions taken while in this state.
Charms:
Archery:
Second Archery Excellency
Trance of Unhesitating Speed
Flashing Vengeance Draw
Arrow Storm Technique
Melee:
Second Melee Excellency
Hungry Tiger Technique
War:
Second War Excellency
Bureaucracy:
Second Bureaucracy Excellency
Dodge:
Shadow over Water
Seven Shadows Evasion (Valor Flaw)
Backgrounds, Possessions, Intimacies
Resources: 4
Gyler and Kailana were allotted a significant amount of Jade from the treasuries of House Cathak, mostly for use as bribes while on their mission to monitor and evaluate the military might of the tribes of Harborhead. Additionally, in the wake of Gyler's exaltation, the already-generous Totikari tribal chiefs were relentless in pursuing him and forcing upon him numerous offerings of their gratitude, many of which hold great value in the trading bazaars of the south.
Artifact: 2
Orichalcum Daiklave "Goldenrod"
*How this was acquired is to be determined, and will most likely involve whatever escapades the circle was up to before we started playing.
Contact: 1
While many of his former comrades in arms across the south would turn on him if they were aware of his Anathema nature, his identity as a Exalt has not yet been compromised. The Satrapy is aware of the rumors of a pale-skinned Solar Exalt originating among the tribes of Harborhead. Only Kailina knows the truth, and at least for now it appears that she hasn't yet spoken up, perhaps out of some sense of loyalty, or more likely, fear and confusion. Either way, Gyler still has significant pull with the representatives of the Satrapy he's come into contact with over the years.
Manse: 1
A point into the group's manse.
Possessions
Arbani Arms "Komodo Mk.3 TRE," a Perfect Flame Piece
Speed 5, Accuracy +3, Damage 9L, Rate 1, Range 10
The first priority of the Realm's military in the South is to maintain the appearance of strength. To this effect, on formal occasions or when contact with dignitaries or representatives of the myriad nations or tribes is expected, officers of the 47th are outfitted with some of the highly limited supply of the finest equipment that jade can buy.
Enter the Komodo Mk.3, the latest and greatest in flame piece technology from Arbani Arms. Its triple-quenched forged steel barrel, double-flashpan redundancy, and the mother-of-pearl and ivory handle all come together to form the most effective, reliable and stylish firewand this side of Yu-shan. The Satrapy couldn't avoid taking notice, and decided that in lieu of tribute for the year, they would order two dozen Mk.3s, made by Halan Arbani himself - leading to the creation of the 'TRE', or Tributary Realm Edition, a superior limited edition version of the already formidable flame piece.
While preparing for their deployment to Harborhead's tribal regions, Kailana had this exceptional flame piece modified by a master craftsman, and gave it to Gyler as a gift. The length of the barrel has been detailed in stylized engravings, which have been inlaid with red jade. On one side is a engraving of Hesiesh, the elemental fire dragon, blowing a cone of fire towards the front of the firewand. On the other side is a beautiful woman in a gown lying back, bearing an expression of both ecstasy and longing. The addition of the heavy jade has a side effect of adding further weight to the barrel, reducing the recoil of the firedust igniting and helping to focus the jet of flames it unleashes on its target.
The finest Destrier of the Totikari people, this horse was forced upon Gyler by the chiefs of the Totikari tribe. Loath to take on more of the already-extensive gifts, he nonetheless accepted the exceptional stallion, whose pearly crimson-white hue strangely enough reminded him of the hearth-cat he had as a child. Unable to pronounce its name in the Totikari dialect, decided to bestow upon it the name of his childhood pet as well.
- Cathak Kailana, a Fire-Aspected Terrestrial Exalt, and his former lover before his exaltation
- His perfect flame piece, a gift from Kailana
- Goldenrod, Orichalcum Daiklave, his Solar inheritance.
- Lonz, his warhorse
- *more to be added later
Appearance
The first thing you notice about Gyler is his unkempt and tall orange hair, bohemian and roguish, yet charmingly endearing. You catch a quick glint of light off of the crystal-lensed goggles he wears to keep the sand out of his eyes in the deep desert, now pushed up on his forehead to keep his hair back. His confident, yet warm features further establishes this is no ordinary soldier.
Indeed, a closer examination confirms this. Under the beige traveler's cloak that extends past his knees, the crimson scaled lamellar he wears bears the marks of high quality craftsmanship, the Arbani flame piece holstered at his hip a sign of exquisite taste, and the bright pommel of the large sword strapped across his back all point out that this is someone special, someone worth listening to, someone worth following.
When his true solar nature is revealed, his caste-mark shines solidly and brightly, and trails of blue-gold essence whip around him, echoing his fluid movements. The draw of his masterfully engraved flame piece is more of a blur than a motion, causing the casual observer to question if the firewand hadn't been in his hand the whole time. As his anima banner flares, the essence trails expand and solidify, forming swirling bands of runes in an indecipherable language that flow to accentuate every pull of a trigger and strike of a Daiklave, every beat of a rousing speech and each stroke of a bureau-rectifying pen.
Statblock
DDV: 5
PDV (Orichalcum Daiklave): 7
Natural Soak: 2B/1L/1A
Armor Soak: 9B/7L
Total Soak: 11B/8L/1A
Health Levels: 0/1/1/2/2/4/I
Flame Piece: speed 5, 14 attack dice, 9L base damage, rate 1, misc action to reload
Daiklave: speed 5, 14 attack dice, 8L base damage, rate 4
Alright, a few things I noticed, and some feedback
First, your character's name. Are you fine with the rest of us calling you "Seeker?" I'd think that as a member of House Arbani, you also have a name along the lines of "Arbani something." It's not a huge thing.
Yeah, I hate trying to come up with names. I'll try to figure something better out later -- unfortunately the core book doesn't seem to have many good examples of southern names.
As of now, what we've got from your character's background is a bit of a blank slate with a sister and a family. If his sister's been a big part of his life, elaborate upon it. What's her name? What did she do to become successful in contract to your character? Why is your character so fascinated with the first age?
The first thing I noticed is that your ability to fight is rather diminished. While sorcery is fun, offensive sorcery isn't really the sort of thing that's too useful in a more personal fight, especially one involving any allies in the area. You're going to want to be able to do better than karate-chopping on seven attack dice, or shooting a flame piece on six. Even if you get off a Butterflies, you're only rolling six dice with three autos on 8L of damage dice, which isn't exactly impressive.
Yeah, I'll probably shift some points from survival into something more fighty (probably MA). I wasn't sure how important Occult was, so I went with the minimum. If that's good to have more dots in, I'll try to free up some bp to bring Occult to 4.
One of the themes of the Solar exalted is that they do everything better than mortals, and then are right at the edge of the absolute best in creation at a few things. You want to be great at something, and then accentuate that with charms. Right now, it seems like you're great at Lore, but you haven't really sunk in many charms to take advantage of that. If you want to be a powerful sorcerer, then starting off with Occult 3 is going to really hinder you. I don't really see a situation where you would be using First Dodge when you have SSE, and I'm not sure why a you have resistance 1 and survival 3, and then take two resistance charms and none in survival. You want to be able to show off how great you are at the things you can do really well.
I decided on SSE + the sorcery spells pretty quickly, but was at a bit of a loss on how to fill out the remaining four charms. I looked at the Lore tree, but neither the Chaos-Repelling Pattern nor the Essence Lending Method trees looked particularly appealing to me.
Last thing - I'm not sure if we're playing with the Twilight anima nerf or not, though at least for me, an alarm bell goes off when I see a Twilight Caste with Essence-Gathering Temper and an armor buff like Invulnerable Skin of Bronze.
By anima nerf, you mean this errata:
Twilight Anima Banner (pp. 95-96)
By spending 5 motes, a Twilight Caste may roll a number of dice
equal to his Essence rating, negating a number of levels of damage
from an attack in step 10 of attack resolution equal to the
number of successes. When his anima banner flares at the 11m
level of display, he automatically subtracts one level of damage
from attacks in step 10 instead; the character may choose to
waive this benefit to invoke his anima effect in response to a
source of damage at normal cost, if desired. The anima powers
of the Daybreak and Defiler Castes also work in this manner.
I was planning on taking Invulnerable Skin of Bronze anyway, and with the ammount of essence Sorcery uses I was looking for a way to recover essence faster than normal. Essence-Gathering Temper seemed too good to pass up. I had also forgotten exactly how the Twilight anima worked -- I was thinking it added to either soak or hardness. Even then, it would be really good. High soak + EGT + Twilight anima does look broken, especially against lower essence level opponents.
I wanted some way to recoup some Essence given how much sorcery costs, any suggestions?
I'd suggest bumping your lore up to 5 and dropping First Dodge and maybe Ox-Body, and taking a level or two of Imminent Solar Glory.
It would be practically perfect for your character, and would drastically increase your essence pool.
Imminent Solar Glory is Obvious, which might be a problem since we don't have our own empire (yet), and House Arbani might care if an Exalt is managing one of their labs. Or maybe not.
Snowdown: I think I'm going to need my bonus points back. Sorry.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
I might be able to contribute to a manse.
I dunno, I'm still trying to sort out my charms. I'd at least have the background writeup done, but I need to get in front of a real computer.
New from the bazaars and rumor mills of the south!
"Whispers from tribesmen in the deep south, murmuring about a figure known as the Lord of Last Hopes, who claims to be Creation's salvation, and wields the radiance of Heaven itself to strike down his foes"
On a more feedback-related post, Pluto, I like your stuff a lot. Perhaps not the overbearing quantity of detail, although that's always nice, but just the various story hooks and name-connections you put out.
Ahlat, the Cathaks, House Arbani, dynastic military forces moving in the south, tribesmen... even if they aren't backgrounds, they can be tied into the character in interesting ways. It's good stuff.
Papillon, you're going to want a bit more combat prowess, as Pluto said. This is going to be a somewhat action-invested game. I'm glad you're covering yourself with dodge, but being able to hit without busting out the sorcery is a really good thing.
I'll probably be starting out with easy combat as opposed to dragon-blood murdersquads, as I've said, but having a way to take down an armed guard is always a very good thing.
Guys, I'm eager to see your sheets, and any tidbit of fluff you come up with on the way(whether it's just a cool idea for a desert tribe that doesn't fit into your background, or an old legend related to your character) would be really cool to see. We're building the world here, not just tearing it out of Compass of Celestial Directions: South(although I'm pulling an idea or two from there, I'm going fairly loose-cannon, to keep with the conceit of corebook only)
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
I have this burning desire to take linguistics charms. What is wrong with me?
I have this burning desire to take linguistics charms. What is wrong with me?
You want to write a letter so badass awesome that it will cause any any mortal who reads it to have their heart explode, that's what.
Well... yeah. Hmm, I guess I could take those (there are like five of them that are awesome) and then build my Performance/Presence ability later. A warrior/poet slowly becoming a street preacher? Hmmmm...
Warrior/Poet totally fits into Exalted schema. Who needs to preach to the masses when you can just post a flyer, and everyone who reads it will fall under your sway?
Oh right the vast population of creation is illiterate but hey don't let that stop you.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
Look, how am I supposed to start a rebellion through a letter writing campaign if you keep raining on my parade Rainfall
Well it's not like the illiterate ones are important. Seriously!
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
I don't think I can skip linguistics and still be happy with my character at this point :P It just feels so right. But maybe once I get it finished and see how ridiculous it is I'll scrap it
Ugh, I might have to bow out too. I'd totally forgotten that I was planning on going on vacation for most of September, and wouldn't have access to the Internet, and this would cause a problem in playing a game over said medium.
Here was my updated sheet:
Essence: ooo
Personal pool: 16, Peripheral pool: 48
Anima: A pillar of pure flame
Flaw: Berserk Anger (from book p105): The character goes berserk and kills everything.
Partial Control: Can avoid attacking allies and furniture.
Limit Break Condition: The character is insulted, belittled, demeaned or deliberately frustrated.
Virtues: Conviction 4, Compassion 1, Valor 3, Temperance 2
Intimacy: Younger sister, who's a representative of House Arbani in Churiscuro
Charms:
First Archery Excellency
Second Lore Excellency
Seven Shadow Evasion (Conviction Flaw)
Shadow Over Water
Ox-Body Technique (1 -1 level, 2 -2 levels)
Immanent Solar Glory
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Death of Obsidian Butterflies
Emerald Countermagic
Invulnerable Skin of Bronze
Equipment: 2 Flame Pieces, Chain Shirt, appropriate survival equipment for a desert, walking staff, whatever else I can afford but can't think of right now.
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
Plutonium, I put your character into the Anathema chargen thing and came up with having only used 14/15 bonus points.
As for me, well, finally tried monkeying around with all those linguistics charms and yeah, that's not gonna work. Sooooo, still working on it.
My computer problem is EITHER, my power supply, Mobo, or CPU.
If it's my power supply, I can have it fixed this weekend (friend has a spare)
If it's my MOBO or CPU, it probably won't be until the end of next week, maybe beginning of the week after.
Without my PC, I can't finish my character.
So, your guys call. I understand this is a potential week+ delay, and would be fine with dropping out in lieu of another player who could start immediately.
Plutonium, I put your character into the Anathema chargen thing and came up with having only used 14/15 bonus points.
Yeah, I was missing a point of athletics on the chart, but I liked it at two better than three anyways, and I didn't really see my character as doing a lot of backflips and shit, so I decided to go with it and use the point to bump my presence up to 3. That is, unless you guys out there have an idea for a bonus point or two as a gift from me to the group.
As for the situation with the circle, both Egos and Hotran had good ideas for Night Castes, and I think extending one of them an invitation would be a good idea.
I'm okay with giving Snowdown some time to fix up his PC, as long as he takes that time to work on making an extra-awesome Twilight caste.
well, i'll let it go on record that if someone has to drop out, i'd be happy to be put on the reserves list for a spot; i've got a concept for a classical style wandering chinese monk with a large belly and a larger laugh taking on the role as the ambassador to the spirit world. so eclipse, naturally.
Okay, Papillon, if you're out in September then that's just not going to work, I don't want to put the game on hold right when it's going to be warming up.
Sorry!
Arc, Egos, Hotran, whoever replies first gets the coveted spot of Twilight and then you can try to trade with Udjat for Eclipse(since he's mentioned that he's mildly unhappy with it.)
Backgrounds: Resources 3, Familiar (some kind of bird - a Mospit?) 3, Artifact (Orichalum Dire Lance) 2, Contacts (House Ledaal) 1
Charms:
Second Dodge Excellency
First Linguistics Excellency
Sagacious Reading of Intent
Flawless Brush Discipline
Letter-Within-A-Letter Technique
First Melee Excellency
Dipping Swallow Defense
Bulwark Stance
Heavenly Guardian Defense
Solar Counterattack
Well, threw everything into Linguistics and Melee. If he's not writing treatsies on rebellion, he's kicking ass with his spear. I guess... he's got a lot of room to grow?
Quick and Dirty Background: Born to Dragonborn parents of House Ledaal, Ketan was a dutiful son. When it was decided that House Ledaal needed to bolster its Legions, he put aside his thoughts of joining the Immaculate Order and trained to become a warrior. When his Legion was disbanded, he took his spear and shield to the South to work as a mercenary doing the bidding of his House. When he Exalted, Ketan found himself standing outside of all the structures and order he had thought to be the foundation of his life. In his doubt and confusion, he has dedicated himself to fulfilling the Immaculate Order's perception of a Solar: One who rebels and disrupts the standard order of things. To this end, he has been covertly attempting to foment rebellion within the South.
As a Solar, with a Perfect Defense, you really don't need to spend the charm on the Dodge Excellency, the First Melee Excellency can boost your defenses, and against an Unblockable attack, Heavenly Guardian Defense will serve you just fine.
Having Dodge 3 isn't a bad thing for if you get caught unawares, but you could probably spend the Charm elsewhere if you wish.
As far as the background goes, I really like the concept. I'd like to see it fleshed out a bit more(his contacts, where his Dire Lance is from, some details about his Familiar, and just a couple more hooks,) but it's a very solid idea and I really like it.
Also, there's this history of Creation I've gotta borrow from RPG.net. Thought you guys might enjoy it.
Re: How Awesome is Exalted???
Here's a history of the setting of Exalted, which may answer a bunch of questions and put things into perspective all at once.
Once upon the time, in the formless twisting chaos of the Wyld, there appeared the Primordials. The Primordials are impossibly vast alien beings with multiple souls. Imagine if Cthulhu was the size of Asia and you meet and hold conversations with his kidneys, which had seperate identities, and you kinda get the idea.
"The formless chaos that spawned us sucks," said the Primordials. "Let's build someplace cool to live, rather than hang out here!"
And so they did. They made Creation, and nailed it down with the Elemental Poles of Earth, Air, Wood, Fire, and Water.
"This place isn't gonna maintain itself," said the Primordials. "Let's make a bunch of servants to run the place for us! We'll give them intelligence, free will, and hopes and dreams, and then keep them as slaves for eternity! It'll be great!" And so they made the gods. Some gods, such as the Unconquered Sun, Luna, and the Maidens, were built to be exceedingly cool and do lots; others were built to do stuff like make sure individual shrubs grew properly.
"Huzzah!" said the Primordials. "We have people to do the dirty work of running the place for us! Let's spend half our time playing the impossibly awesome Games of Divinity, and the other half running amok!" And so they did.
"This sucks," said the gods, after moving the Elemental Pole of Fire back into place for the 700th time after one of the Primordials went on a drinking binge and knocked it loose, causing untold thousands of deaths and nearly causing Creation to fall back into the Wyld. "We should kill those assholes and take their stuff."
"Ha ha!" said the Primordials. "You can't kill us! When we built you, we programmed you so you could never attack us! Suck it, bitches!"
So the Unconquered Sun, who is the God of Awesome, came up with a plan. "Let's take those little mortal humans down there and give them incredible power. Then we can have them kill the Primordials, and then we can get at their Games of Divinity and play them ourselves!" So they developed Essence Shards, which are sort of like an additional component to the human soul that lets you do magic and super kung fu. Then they picked out the coolest people in Creation and instilled these Essence Shards in them.
"Are you planning on using those Exalted mortals to kill my asshole brothers and sisters and take their stuff?" asked Autocthon, who was just about the only Primordial on the side of the gods, because most of the time it was his stuff that the other Primordials were breaking when they ran amok. Plus they made fun of him all the time.
"Um...no," said the gods.
"Gee, that's too bad. I was gonna hook them up with ultimate weapons of Primordial-slaying destruction, but since you're not rebelling and all..."
"Oh, in that case, yes. Yes, we are."
Meanwhile, Luna, goddess of the moon, managed to sweet-talk her Primordial hippy sugar mama Gaia into not fighting during the rebellion. "I'll do that thing with my tongue," Luna promised.
"We have granted you the power to be totally awesome!" said the gods to their Exalted. "Now, go kill those Primordial assholes!"
"Aww, isn't that cute," said the Primordials. "Those little humans think they can OH SHIT THEY'RE STABBING ME OW OW OW!" Half of them died.
"Don't kill us!" said the other half.
"Now you have to be our slaves for forever, ha ha ha!" said the gods, and then sewed them all up inside the stomach of the head Primordial, Malfeas. (Malfeas got turned inside-out and sewn into his own stomach, too.)
"You guys suck," said the Primordials to the Exalted. "We hereby curse you so that you'll all turn into assholes someday!"
"Whatever," said the Exalted.
"Well, now that that's over," said the Unconquered Sun, who had since declared himself King of All Cosmos, "Let's go play the Games of Divinity all day! You folks we Exalted, you guys can run the world. Make sure none of our lamer siblings start acting stupid. Make sure I get plenty of prayers coming my way. Other than that, have fun!"
"Hey, I feel kinda guilty for helping kill my brothers and sisters and enslaving the rest," said Autocthon. I'm gonna leave Creation to go brood for a few hundred thousand years."
"Have fun!" said the gods.
So the Exalted - particularly the Solars - ran the world. Having been cool to begin with and then granted badassitude by the God of Awesome, they proceeded to do all sorts of cool stuff, like build magical cities out of glass, make mountains float, and breed dinosaurs who pissed heroin.
Eventually, though, the Solars got bored and jaded and full of themselves. "We killed the Primordials and made all this cool stuff. Everything we do must therefore be right. Let's run amok!" And so they did.
"This sucks," said the Sidereals, whose job it is to make sure that the Loom of Fate, which is sort of the engine that runs Creation, doesn't crash. "At the rate they're going, they're gonna wreck Creation. Let's kill them and take their stuff!"
"Hey, we need your help," the Sidereals said to the Dragon-Blooded, who were the least-powerful but most numerous of the Exalted, who acted as lieutenants and aides and local governers and such. "Your asshole Solar bosses are gonna wreck the world. Can you help us kill them?"
"Figures they'd end up doing something like that. Sure, we'll help," said the Dragon-Blooded.
"Come to our big dinner banquet!" said the Sidereals to the Solars. Then, when the Solars arrived, the Sidereals blew the place up, and trapped the Solar's Essence Shards in a magic cage so that no more Solars could be created.
"Yay, it worked!" said the Sidereals. "We'll erase all evidence of our existence and run the world from behind the scenes, while the Dragon-Blooded can do the dirty work!"
Meanwhile, the ghosts of the dead Primordials caught a 13 of the dead Solar's ghosts on the way down into the Underworld. "Work for us," they said, "and we'll give you incredible power, like what you had when you were alive!"
"What's the catch?" asked the ex-Solar ghosts.
"Well, you have to be our slaves and try to make everything, everywhere, die forever."
"Deal! Let's get cracking!" And so were created the Deathlords, super-powerful ghosts who want the world to die.
So while the Dragon-Blooded were doing a fairly good (although not nearly as impressive as the Solars) job of running Creation, the Deathlords were building a doomsday plague.
"Taste the bitter poison mixed from the ashes of our hopes and the tears of betrayal in the dark pit of our tortured souls!" said the Deathlords, presumably while wearing too much eyeliner, and unleashed their doomsday plague into Creation.
"This sucks," said 90% of the people in the world, and died.
"Hey," said the Deathlords to the Fair Folk, who lived in the Wyld outside of Creation and didn't like the idea of a place that didn't just change according to their thoughts. "Just about everyone in there's dead now. If you went in, ate the souls of the survivors, and tore the place down, no one could stop you!"
"Thanks for the heads up!" said the Fair Folk, and promptly invaded in force.
"This is bad," said one of the surviving Dragon-Blooded to her friends. "Fortunately, I just remembered that there's a sealed-off control center for ultimate magical doomsday weapons that the Solars made for defending Creation against exactly this sort of thing. Let's go on an epic world-saving quest to get in there!"
"OK!" they agreed.
And so they went. Most died trying to get past the defenses, but eventually, two of them finally made it to the control panel.
"Please insert soul to activate this device," said the control panel.
"What does that mean?" asked one, and then the other shoved her into the soul-extraction device.
And so this unnamed Dragon-Blooded gained access to Creation's greatest magical weapons systems and used them to blow up the Fair Folk.
"I hereby declare myself the Scarlet Empress and ruler of the world," she said.
"Nuh uh!" said some, until she blew them up. This brought lots more people over to her side, and thus was born the Realm, which is the major power in the world today.
Still, some said, "You were just a lieutenant who got lucky and stumbled across some doomsday weapons. We still have some doomsday weapons of our own, and we'll fight back!" The Scarlet Empress wanted to blow them up, too, but a lot of her weapons didn't reach and she was kind of afraid of a Mutally Assured Destruction scenerio, so, despite the occasional invasion attempt, they remained independant.
And so things went for over 750 years, until fairly recently, when the Scarlet Empress just up and disappeared. Having named no successor, the entire Realm is now leaderless and gearing up for civil war to see who's gonna be the next one on the Scarlet Throne.
Meanwhile, the Deathlords discovered where the Sidereals had stashed their cage full of Solar shards. "Hey, we can warp those and use them to create our own invincible deathknights!" they said. "Let's go get that cage!" Unfortunately for them (and fortunately for everyone else), half of the Essence Shards got loose. Now, once again, there are Solar Exalted.
And that's where the game begins.
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If I've been reading your posts correctly, your character, while very dutiful, capable, and even poetic when he's in his comfort zone, isn't the most strong-willed when confronted with the prospect of having to take his destiny in his own hands. He seems like he's in a sort of moral crises due to his exaltation, and is looking for any way or answer he can find to fill the void he's feeling in his life caused by his conflicted soul.
I'm going for the more visionary-type personality who is used to taking charge, taking initiative, and giving orders and having people follow them, whether through the strength of his vision and personality he projects, or failing that, through guile and outright manipulation.
I can see these interacting beautifully together, and quite a few types stories potentially being told, some awesome and some awesomely tragic.
Let's talk it over and see what we can work out.
One type of interaction I could see is Ketan sort of 'latching' on to Gyler, much in the same way a wayward soul might latch on to a charismatic cult leader or fringe religion that can provide some type of answer and meaning. "After all," he might say, "this guy's gone through the same thing I did, comes from a similar place, and he seems to have it all figured out."
It doesn't have to be an abusive power-trip cult leader thing either. I'm not even sure I would be be entirely comfortable with that. What I can perhaps see developing in your character is half the desperate gospel-seeker hanging on every word looking for answers, half the enlightened disciple convinced he has found ultimate truth and wisdom, and completely resolute in the idea it must be spread far and wide across the world, regardless of political realities or the carefully-laid plans of the one who actually spoke the words.
haha, yeah, I don't like Twilight at all, probably my least favorite of the Solar castes sorry, good eclipse though
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RingoHe/Hima distinct lack of substanceRegistered Userregular
edited July 2010
Wait, so who's in and who's out now?
Rainfall: I'll probably drop the Dodge excellency for something else. Maybe Twisted Words. I can't decide whether I want the First or Second Excellencies for Melee and Linguistics. My choice of the First was the lower mote cost, as it made sense for someone who was hiding in plain sight to be able to use powers without anima flare.. but Successes are better to have in a crunch than just extra dice... bleh. As for the background stuff, I have that all in my head, just haven't gotten a chance to write it out in front of a computer.
Plutonium: I don't think by the point the Circle comes together, Ketan is really looking for answers - he's already come to the conclusion that the Unconquered Sun wants him to oppose the Realm, and the Immaculate Philosophy states that as a Solar he's supposed to oppose the Realm. He sees and accepts the Order of such as his duty, so there's no conflict in his philosophy on the surface. But underneath, he's just absolutely seething with a rage that he's unwilling to acknowledge. He still thinks of Solars as Anathema (and calls himself a Blasphemer instead of a Zenith), and he's angry that he's been forced to become one. The fact that he gets to take his rage out on the Immaculate Order just twists the knife even more - it feels good to be getting back at somebody, but this is the institution he's spent all his life following, so harming it feels like he's harming himself.
As far as interaction with Gyler, I think you're on the right track with Ketan being comfortable not taking the role of leader - his inner conflict can lead to hesitancy and he realizes that if he is to fulfill his role as Anathema then he cannot afford to hesitate. So while I don't think Ketan will be latching onto Gyler for spiritual guidance, the other aspects of leadership certainly qualify.
Still waiting for a last person to grab the Twilight spot. If necessary, we can go on without one, I'm actually fine with 4 players. It gives me... options.
Posts
Since I switched to Twilight I've changed my background to be a researcher from house Arbani in Gem. As far as the House is concerned, I'm researching and exploring First Age ruins for ways to improve firewands. It's still possible we would have met as I will have spent time in the desert on expeditions.
I'll have to check my sheet when I get home, but if I remember correctly I have up to 1 point of background and 2 bonus points to spend. You need to use 2 bp for each point after 3, so I could bump from 3-4.
We could have met around the manse -- I was following some leads when I came across this manse. You followed me and tried to storm the manse, but between my sorcery and the protections of the manse itself, I was able to hold you off, so we reached an agreement. I would turn over the manse to you, and in exchange you would allow me to also attune the manse and agree to not attack me (and my crew) during my expeditions.
I'll accept the 2 pts to bump it from 3-4....I'll finish my character tomorrow, so we'll either have a level 4 or 5 manse.
Seeker of Flame
Twilight Caste
Motivation: Become a (the most?) powerful sorcerer
Background:
He mostly ignores those comparisons, if only because he knows he's not making as much progress as he could. In truth, his research is cover for his more general curiosity about all things relating to the First Age, particularly sorcery. It was during one of his disastrous (according to the House) expeditions that he received his Exaltation. He had been researching First Age cities when he found references to an outpost located just south of what was now the city of Gem. Intrigued, he set out to investigate. What he found, was a manse.
After several days of investigation, and the unfortunate loss of some slaves, he finally made his way inside. There he was immediately drawn to the library. Although much of it was ruined, he was able to discern it had contained secrets of Solar sorcery. Excited, he read on, but he could figure out nothing else; he could read the words, but the text made no sense. Weeks passed, but he was still no closer to understanding anything in the library.
Dejected, he prepared to return to Gem. However, the guard he had posted was missing and a bandit was making his way through the manse's defenses. Inconceivable! This was his find, and he wasn't going to share it. He drew his firepieces and let them rip at the intruder. But the intruder moved faster than he would ever have dreamed possible and just...stepped...out of the way. His act of defiance did not go unnoticed however. The room began to glow, and he suddenly understood exactly how the defenses worked, and the sorcery he had been studying became clear. With his new-found knowledge, he was finally able to force the intruder to withdraw.
The intruder and his band were still encamped around the manse, so they were at an impasse: the intruder was also a Solar. Finally they agreed to a deal: the other Solar would get possession of the manse, but he would receive free access, and protection on his expeditions. Not a good deal, but it would have to suffice -- for now.
Sheet:
Personal pool: 16, Peripheral pool: 38
Anima: A pillar of pure flame
Virtues: Conviction 4, Compassion 1, Valor 3, Temperance 2
Intimacy: Younger sister, who's a representative of House Arbani in Churiscuro
Willpower: 7
Abilities: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3
Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3
Perception 3, Intelligence 4, Wits 4
Abilities (* are favored/caste abilities)
*Archery 1, *Martial Arts 2, *Resistance 1, Survival 3, *Craft (Fire) 2, *Investigation 2, *Lore 4 (First Age 2), *Medicine 1, *Occult 3, *Athletics 2, *Awareness 3, *Dodge 4, Linguistics 2
Languages: Firetongue, High Realm, Old Realm
Background: Backing (House Arbani) 2, Resources 3, Contacts 2
Charms:
First Dodge Excellency
Second Lore Excellency
Seven Shadow Evasion (Conviction Flaw)
Shadow Over Water
Ox-Body Technique (1 -1 level, 2 -2 levels)
Essence-Gathering Temper
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Death of Obsidian Butterflies
Emerald Countermagic
Invulnerable Skin of Bronze
Equipment: 2 Flame Pieces, Chain Shirt, appropriate survival equipment for a desert, walking staff, whatever else I can afford but can't think of right now.
First, your character's name. Are you fine with the rest of us calling you "Seeker?" I'd think that as a member of House Arbani, you also have a name along the lines of "Arbani something." It's not a huge thing.
Secondly, the motivation. It's very broad, and it isn't really the kind of "smaller thing" that Rain was looking for. He already has a keen fascination with the First Age - perhaps he wants to unlock the secrets of the Manse he's discovered, or maybe he's found a clue in the Manse that will lead him and his fellow Solars to further secrets of the first age?
As of now, what we've got from your character's background is a bit of a blank slate with a sister and a family. If his sister's been a big part of his life, elaborate upon it. What's her name? What did she do to become successful in contract to your character? Why is your character so fascinated with the first age?
Now, on to the character sheet.
The first thing I noticed is that your ability to fight is rather diminished. While sorcery is fun, offensive sorcery isn't really the sort of thing that's too useful in a more personal fight, especially one involving any allies in the area. You're going to want to be able to do better than karate-chopping on seven attack dice, or shooting a flame piece on six. Even if you get off a Butterflies, you're only rolling six dice with three autos on 8L of damage dice, which isn't exactly impressive.
One of the themes of the Solar exalted is that they do everything better than mortals, and then are right at the edge of the absolute best in creation at a few things. You want to be great at something, and then accentuate that with charms. Right now, it seems like you're great at Lore, but you haven't really sunk in many charms to take advantage of that. If you want to be a powerful sorcerer, then starting off with Occult 3 is going to really hinder you. I don't really see a situation where you would be using First Dodge when you have SSE, and I'm not sure why a you have resistance 1 and survival 3, and then take two resistance charms and none in survival. You want to be able to show off how great you are at the things you can do really well.
Last thing - I'm not sure if we're playing with the Twilight anima nerf or not, though at least for me, an alarm bell goes off when I see a Twilight Caste with Essence-Gathering Temper and an armor buff like Invulnerable Skin of Bronze.
Conlyth Gyler, Heaven's Winglord
Player: Plutonium
Dawn Caste
Anima Banner: Gold and Blue spinning rings of runes surround him, the glyphs formed of pulsating essence and written in a language known to none but the Unconquered Sun.
Motivation: To plunge the nations of the South into swift and deciding conflicts, sparing the millions that would perish in decade-long power struggles.
Essence OO
Personal Pool:12/12
Peripheral Pool 24/29 (5 attuned)
Willpower: 6/6
Attributes, Abilities, Languages
Dexterity: OOOO
Stamina: OO
Charisma: OOOO
Manipulation: OOOO
Appearance: OOO
Perception: OOO
Intellegence: OOO
Wits: OOO
Archery: 5 (Firewands 2)
Melee: 4 (Daiklaves 2)
War: 2 (Dynastic 2)
Integrity: 1
Performance: 1
Presence: 3
Resistance: 1
Athletics: 2
Awareness: 3
Dodge: 4
Bureaucracy: 3
Linguistics: 2
Ride: 2
Socialize: 1
Languages: High Realm, Low Realm, Flametongue
Virtues, Charms, Limit Break:
Conviction: 2
Temperance: 1
Valor: 3
Valor Virtue Flaw: Vexing Frustration
Limit Break Condition: The Solar's plots are foiled, he suffers a setback, underestimates a foe, an underling or ally fails him, or other similar situations occur.
For one scene, the Solar takes matters into his own hands. "Do I have to do everything myself!" he cries as conventional wisdom and prudent judgment be damned, the exalt throws himself into success at this specific goal or task, ignoring all other matters until whatever thwarting him is dealt with. Whether this means leading a cavalry charge into a wall of hardened defenders that have already thrown back wave after wave, or poring hours into solving an elaborately vexing puzzle or riddle, it will get done, come heaven or high water.
Partial Control: The Solar can be roused temporarily from his current fixation to tend to events of critical importance or of an exceptionally distracting nature. However, the obsession lingers in the back of his mind, inflicting a -2 external penalty to any non-fixation-related actions taken while in this state.
Charms:
Archery:
Second Archery Excellency
Trance of Unhesitating Speed
Flashing Vengeance Draw
Arrow Storm Technique
Melee:
Second Melee Excellency
Hungry Tiger Technique
War:
Second War Excellency
Bureaucracy:
Second Bureaucracy Excellency
Dodge:
Shadow over Water
Seven Shadows Evasion (Valor Flaw)
Backgrounds, Possessions, Intimacies
Resources: 4
Gyler and Kailana were allotted a significant amount of Jade from the treasuries of House Cathak, mostly for use as bribes while on their mission to monitor and evaluate the military might of the tribes of Harborhead. Additionally, in the wake of Gyler's exaltation, the already-generous Totikari tribal chiefs were relentless in pursuing him and forcing upon him numerous offerings of their gratitude, many of which hold great value in the trading bazaars of the south.
Artifact: 2
Orichalcum Daiklave "Goldenrod"
*How this was acquired is to be determined, and will most likely involve whatever escapades the circle was up to before we started playing.
Contact: 1
While many of his former comrades in arms across the south would turn on him if they were aware of his Anathema nature, his identity as a Exalt has not yet been compromised. The Satrapy is aware of the rumors of a pale-skinned Solar Exalt originating among the tribes of Harborhead. Only Kailina knows the truth, and at least for now it appears that she hasn't yet spoken up, perhaps out of some sense of loyalty, or more likely, fear and confusion. Either way, Gyler still has significant pull with the representatives of the Satrapy he's come into contact with over the years.
Manse: 1
A point into the group's manse.
Possessions
Arbani Arms "Komodo Mk.3 TRE," a Perfect Flame Piece
Speed 5, Accuracy +3, Damage 9L, Rate 1, Range 10
The first priority of the Realm's military in the South is to maintain the appearance of strength. To this effect, on formal occasions or when contact with dignitaries or representatives of the myriad nations or tribes is expected, officers of the 47th are outfitted with some of the highly limited supply of the finest equipment that jade can buy.
Enter the Komodo Mk.3, the latest and greatest in flame piece technology from Arbani Arms. Its triple-quenched forged steel barrel, double-flashpan redundancy, and the mother-of-pearl and ivory handle all come together to form the most effective, reliable and stylish firewand this side of Yu-shan. The Satrapy couldn't avoid taking notice, and decided that in lieu of tribute for the year, they would order two dozen Mk.3s, made by Halan Arbani himself - leading to the creation of the 'TRE', or Tributary Realm Edition, a superior limited edition version of the already formidable flame piece.
While preparing for their deployment to Harborhead's tribal regions, Kailana had this exceptional flame piece modified by a master craftsman, and gave it to Gyler as a gift. The length of the barrel has been detailed in stylized engravings, which have been inlaid with red jade. On one side is a engraving of Hesiesh, the elemental fire dragon, blowing a cone of fire towards the front of the firewand. On the other side is a beautiful woman in a gown lying back, bearing an expression of both ecstasy and longing. The addition of the heavy jade has a side effect of adding further weight to the barrel, reducing the recoil of the firedust igniting and helping to focus the jet of flames it unleashes on its target.
Goldenrod, Orichalcum Daiklave
Speed 5, Accuracy +4, Damave +6L, Defense +3, Rate 4, Attune 5
*Description to be added later
Lonz, Totikari Warhorse
The finest Destrier of the Totikari people, this horse was forced upon Gyler by the chiefs of the Totikari tribe. Loath to take on more of the already-extensive gifts, he nonetheless accepted the exceptional stallion, whose pearly crimson-white hue strangely enough reminded him of the hearth-cat he had as a child. Unable to pronounce its name in the Totikari dialect, decided to bestow upon it the name of his childhood pet as well.
Exceptional Officer's Lamellar
Soak +7L/9B, Mobility -1, Fatigue 0, Concealable
Intimacies
- Cathak Kailana, a Fire-Aspected Terrestrial Exalt, and his former lover before his exaltation
- His perfect flame piece, a gift from Kailana
- Goldenrod, Orichalcum Daiklave, his Solar inheritance.
- Lonz, his warhorse
- *more to be added later
Appearance
Indeed, a closer examination confirms this. Under the beige traveler's cloak that extends past his knees, the crimson scaled lamellar he wears bears the marks of high quality craftsmanship, the Arbani flame piece holstered at his hip a sign of exquisite taste, and the bright pommel of the large sword strapped across his back all point out that this is someone special, someone worth listening to, someone worth following.
When his true solar nature is revealed, his caste-mark shines solidly and brightly, and trails of blue-gold essence whip around him, echoing his fluid movements. The draw of his masterfully engraved flame piece is more of a blur than a motion, causing the casual observer to question if the firewand hadn't been in his hand the whole time. As his anima banner flares, the essence trails expand and solidify, forming swirling bands of runes in an indecipherable language that flow to accentuate every pull of a trigger and strike of a Daiklave, every beat of a rousing speech and each stroke of a bureau-rectifying pen.
Statblock
DDV: 5
PDV (Orichalcum Daiklave): 7
Natural Soak: 2B/1L/1A
Armor Soak: 9B/7L
Total Soak: 11B/8L/1A
Health Levels: 0/1/1/2/2/4/I
Flame Piece: speed 5, 14 attack dice, 9L base damage, rate 1, misc action to reload
Daiklave: speed 5, 14 attack dice, 8L base damage, rate 4
Yeah, I hate trying to come up with names. I'll try to figure something better out later -- unfortunately the core book doesn't seem to have many good examples of southern names.
Yeah, I'll probably shift some points from survival into something more fighty (probably MA). I wasn't sure how important Occult was, so I went with the minimum. If that's good to have more dots in, I'll try to free up some bp to bring Occult to 4.
I decided on SSE + the sorcery spells pretty quickly, but was at a bit of a loss on how to fill out the remaining four charms. I looked at the Lore tree, but neither the Chaos-Repelling Pattern nor the Essence Lending Method trees looked particularly appealing to me.
By anima nerf, you mean this errata:
I was planning on taking Invulnerable Skin of Bronze anyway, and with the ammount of essence Sorcery uses I was looking for a way to recover essence faster than normal. Essence-Gathering Temper seemed too good to pass up. I had also forgotten exactly how the Twilight anima worked -- I was thinking it added to either soak or hardness. Even then, it would be really good. High soak + EGT + Twilight anima does look broken, especially against lower essence level opponents.
I wanted some way to recoup some Essence given how much sorcery costs, any suggestions?
It would be practically perfect for your character, and would drastically increase your essence pool.
Imminent Solar Glory is Obvious, which might be a problem since we don't have our own empire (yet), and House Arbani might care if an Exalt is managing one of their labs. Or maybe not.
Snowdown: I think I'm going to need my bonus points back. Sorry.
I dunno, I'm still trying to sort out my charms. I'd at least have the background writeup done, but I need to get in front of a real computer.
"Whispers from tribesmen in the deep south, murmuring about a figure known as the Lord of Last Hopes, who claims to be Creation's salvation, and wields the radiance of Heaven itself to strike down his foes"
Ahlat, the Cathaks, House Arbani, dynastic military forces moving in the south, tribesmen... even if they aren't backgrounds, they can be tied into the character in interesting ways. It's good stuff.
Papillon, you're going to want a bit more combat prowess, as Pluto said. This is going to be a somewhat action-invested game. I'm glad you're covering yourself with dodge, but being able to hit without busting out the sorcery is a really good thing.
I'll probably be starting out with easy combat as opposed to dragon-blood murdersquads, as I've said, but having a way to take down an armed guard is always a very good thing.
Guys, I'm eager to see your sheets, and any tidbit of fluff you come up with on the way(whether it's just a cool idea for a desert tribe that doesn't fit into your background, or an old legend related to your character) would be really cool to see. We're building the world here, not just tearing it out of Compass of Celestial Directions: South(although I'm pulling an idea or two from there, I'm going fairly loose-cannon, to keep with the conceit of corebook only)
You want to write a letter so badass awesome that it will cause any any mortal who reads it to have their heart explode, that's what.
Linguistics and Socialize both have a lot of power behind 'em. Don't listen to the haters!
I'll let everyone know tonight or tomorrow.
Basically, I was on my computer last night and heard a very suspect loud noise.
I shut it down.
This morning, I booted my PC up.
Drove to work, and went to RDP into my PC about 2 hours after the boot up.
It was showing offline, just 2 minutes ago.
Called my wife, asked her if she shut it down.
The answer "No, but it's off and there was a weird smell in the bedroom this morning. It smelled like Bandaids"
So, I'm anticipating something bad happened to it....will find out tonight.
Writing this through my blackberry...FUN!
Well... yeah. Hmm, I guess I could take those (there are like five of them that are awesome) and then build my Performance/Presence ability later. A warrior/poet slowly becoming a street preacher? Hmmmm...
Oh right the vast population of creation is illiterate but hey don't let that stop you.
Here was my updated sheet:
Personal pool: 16, Peripheral pool: 48
Anima: A pillar of pure flame
Flaw: Berserk Anger (from book p105): The character goes berserk and kills everything.
Partial Control: Can avoid attacking allies and furniture.
Limit Break Condition: The character is insulted, belittled, demeaned or deliberately frustrated.
Virtues: Conviction 4, Compassion 1, Valor 3, Temperance 2
Intimacy: Younger sister, who's a representative of House Arbani in Churiscuro
Willpower: 7
Abilities: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3
Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3
Perception 4, Intelligence 4, Wits 3
Abilities (* are favored/caste abilities)
*Archery 3, *Resistance 2, *Craft (Fire) 3, *Investigation 2, *Lore 5 (First Age 2), *Medicine 1, *Occult 4, *Athletics 2, Awareness 3, *Dodge 4, Linguistics 2, *Ride 1
Languages: Firetongue, High Realm, Old Realm
Background: Backing (House Arbani) 2, Resources 3, Contacts 2
Charms:
First Archery Excellency
Second Lore Excellency
Seven Shadow Evasion (Conviction Flaw)
Shadow Over Water
Ox-Body Technique (1 -1 level, 2 -2 levels)
Immanent Solar Glory
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Death of Obsidian Butterflies
Emerald Countermagic
Invulnerable Skin of Bronze
Equipment: 2 Flame Pieces, Chain Shirt, appropriate survival equipment for a desert, walking staff, whatever else I can afford but can't think of right now.
As for me, well, finally tried monkeying around with all those linguistics charms and yeah, that's not gonna work. Sooooo, still working on it.
Here's my situation.
My computer problem is EITHER, my power supply, Mobo, or CPU.
If it's my power supply, I can have it fixed this weekend (friend has a spare)
If it's my MOBO or CPU, it probably won't be until the end of next week, maybe beginning of the week after.
Without my PC, I can't finish my character.
So, your guys call. I understand this is a potential week+ delay, and would be fine with dropping out in lieu of another player who could start immediately.
Yeah, I was missing a point of athletics on the chart, but I liked it at two better than three anyways, and I didn't really see my character as doing a lot of backflips and shit, so I decided to go with it and use the point to bump my presence up to 3. That is, unless you guys out there have an idea for a bonus point or two as a gift from me to the group.
As for the situation with the circle, both Egos and Hotran had good ideas for Night Castes, and I think extending one of them an invitation would be a good idea.
I'm okay with giving Snowdown some time to fix up his PC, as long as he takes that time to work on making an extra-awesome Twilight caste.
blame horseshoe.
Sorry!
Arc, Egos, Hotran, whoever replies first gets the coveted spot of Twilight and then you can try to trade with Udjat for Eclipse(since he's mentioned that he's mildly unhappy with it.)
Ledaal Ketan
Caste: Zenith
Motivation: Destruction or Humiliation of the local Immaculate Order
Concept: The Warrior Poet
Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2
Charisma 5, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2,
Perception 2, Intelligence 3, Wits 2
Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, Valor 1
Willpower: 6
Essence: 3
Abilities: *Melee 5, *Thrown 1, War 1
*Integrity 1, *Performance 2, *Presence 4, *Resistance 2, *Survival 1
Lore 1
*Athletics 1, Awareness 1, Dodge 3, Stealth 1
Bureaucracy 1, *Linguistics 5, Ride 2, *Socialize 1
Backgrounds: Resources 3, Familiar (some kind of bird - a Mospit?) 3, Artifact (Orichalum Dire Lance) 2, Contacts (House Ledaal) 1
Charms:
Second Dodge Excellency
First Linguistics Excellency
Sagacious Reading of Intent
Flawless Brush Discipline
Letter-Within-A-Letter Technique
First Melee Excellency
Dipping Swallow Defense
Bulwark Stance
Heavenly Guardian Defense
Solar Counterattack
Well, threw everything into Linguistics and Melee. If he's not writing treatsies on rebellion, he's kicking ass with his spear. I guess... he's got a lot of room to grow?
Quick and Dirty Background: Born to Dragonborn parents of House Ledaal, Ketan was a dutiful son. When it was decided that House Ledaal needed to bolster its Legions, he put aside his thoughts of joining the Immaculate Order and trained to become a warrior. When his Legion was disbanded, he took his spear and shield to the South to work as a mercenary doing the bidding of his House. When he Exalted, Ketan found himself standing outside of all the structures and order he had thought to be the foundation of his life. In his doubt and confusion, he has dedicated himself to fulfilling the Immaculate Order's perception of a Solar: One who rebels and disrupts the standard order of things. To this end, he has been covertly attempting to foment rebellion within the South.
Having Dodge 3 isn't a bad thing for if you get caught unawares, but you could probably spend the Charm elsewhere if you wish.
As far as the background goes, I really like the concept. I'd like to see it fleshed out a bit more(his contacts, where his Dire Lance is from, some details about his Familiar, and just a couple more hooks,) but it's a very solid idea and I really like it.
You're going to blow it up, aren't you?
Also, there's this history of Creation I've gotta borrow from RPG.net. Thought you guys might enjoy it.
COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
It's going to implode.
If I've been reading your posts correctly, your character, while very dutiful, capable, and even poetic when he's in his comfort zone, isn't the most strong-willed when confronted with the prospect of having to take his destiny in his own hands. He seems like he's in a sort of moral crises due to his exaltation, and is looking for any way or answer he can find to fill the void he's feeling in his life caused by his conflicted soul.
I'm going for the more visionary-type personality who is used to taking charge, taking initiative, and giving orders and having people follow them, whether through the strength of his vision and personality he projects, or failing that, through guile and outright manipulation.
I can see these interacting beautifully together, and quite a few types stories potentially being told, some awesome and some awesomely tragic.
Let's talk it over and see what we can work out.
It doesn't have to be an abusive power-trip cult leader thing either. I'm not even sure I would be be entirely comfortable with that. What I can perhaps see developing in your character is half the desperate gospel-seeker hanging on every word looking for answers, half the enlightened disciple convinced he has found ultimate truth and wisdom, and completely resolute in the idea it must be spread far and wide across the world, regardless of political realities or the carefully-laid plans of the one who actually spoke the words.
good luck!
Rainfall: I'll probably drop the Dodge excellency for something else. Maybe Twisted Words. I can't decide whether I want the First or Second Excellencies for Melee and Linguistics. My choice of the First was the lower mote cost, as it made sense for someone who was hiding in plain sight to be able to use powers without anima flare.. but Successes are better to have in a crunch than just extra dice... bleh. As for the background stuff, I have that all in my head, just haven't gotten a chance to write it out in front of a computer.
Plutonium: I don't think by the point the Circle comes together, Ketan is really looking for answers - he's already come to the conclusion that the Unconquered Sun wants him to oppose the Realm, and the Immaculate Philosophy states that as a Solar he's supposed to oppose the Realm. He sees and accepts the Order of such as his duty, so there's no conflict in his philosophy on the surface. But underneath, he's just absolutely seething with a rage that he's unwilling to acknowledge. He still thinks of Solars as Anathema (and calls himself a Blasphemer instead of a Zenith), and he's angry that he's been forced to become one. The fact that he gets to take his rage out on the Immaculate Order just twists the knife even more - it feels good to be getting back at somebody, but this is the institution he's spent all his life following, so harming it feels like he's harming himself.
As far as interaction with Gyler, I think you're on the right track with Ketan being comfortable not taking the role of leader - his inner conflict can lead to hesitancy and he realizes that if he is to fulfill his role as Anathema then he cannot afford to hesitate. So while I don't think Ketan will be latching onto Gyler for spiritual guidance, the other aspects of leadership certainly qualify.
Your stuff looks exceptionally flavorful Udjat.
How's Snowdown's stuff coming? He just started running a D&D game, so it looks like his computer's back up.