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[On] Exalted: The Locust Horde - Like a fire in my blood
Rainfall
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, without further ado, here we go!
Houserule:
Lunar Knacks cost 8xp, as this was the original intention of the guy who wrote them, as opposed to the asshat who wrote the Lunar XP table.
Houserule:
Crafting is ONE SKILL, any TYPE of crafting that you want to do must be purchased as a specialty. You can buy as many specialties as you want, but only up to 3 per craft type.
So a Solar artisan might have Craft 5, (Magitech 3) (Fire 1) (Earth 1) (Air 1) (Water 1) (Wood 1)
They all count as Craft 5, and Magitech rolls get +2 thanks to the specialty
Contact me via gtalk at Tempestwing AT gmail DOT com
Game on, Sunday night at 7:00 MST! #Locusthorde on irc.slashnet.org! Be there!
Critical Failure Presents
The Locust Horde
Creation falters.
Hundreds of foes plot to conquer and destroy the lands that millions call home.
Heroes give their lives every day to protect what is theirs.
And in the South, beyond the burning sands of the deserts, comes a new peril.
Men, clad in armor of strange materials, who speak no man's language.
They pillage mercilessly, taking the very bricks with which we build our houses.
Heroes die on the seas of the West, battling the Lintha demon-spawn.
Heroes die in the icy wastes of the North, fighting the blasphemies of the Deathlords.
Heroes die in the forests of the East, as mighty behemoths devour souls as though they were child's candy.
In the south, new heroes step forwards. Will they fall, or will they stand strong against this new threat to Creation?
The Locust Horde
Creation falters.
Hundreds of foes plot to conquer and destroy the lands that millions call home.
Heroes give their lives every day to protect what is theirs.
And in the South, beyond the burning sands of the deserts, comes a new peril.
Men, clad in armor of strange materials, who speak no man's language.
They pillage mercilessly, taking the very bricks with which we build our houses.
Heroes die on the seas of the West, battling the Lintha demon-spawn.
Heroes die in the icy wastes of the North, fighting the blasphemies of the Deathlords.
Heroes die in the forests of the East, as mighty behemoths devour souls as though they were child's candy.
In the south, new heroes step forwards. Will they fall, or will they stand strong against this new threat to Creation?
Houserule:
Lunar Knacks cost 8xp, as this was the original intention of the guy who wrote them, as opposed to the asshat who wrote the Lunar XP table.
Houserule:
Crafting is ONE SKILL, any TYPE of crafting that you want to do must be purchased as a specialty. You can buy as many specialties as you want, but only up to 3 per craft type.
So a Solar artisan might have Craft 5, (Magitech 3) (Fire 1) (Earth 1) (Air 1) (Water 1) (Wood 1)
They all count as Craft 5, and Magitech rolls get +2 thanks to the specialty
Contact me via gtalk at Tempestwing AT gmail DOT com
Game on, Sunday night at 7:00 MST! #Locusthorde on irc.slashnet.org! Be there!
Rainfall on
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Also that Edge of Midnight looks very fun. I
(also I have no time for another realtime game at this point in time, sadly.)
I've got one game that I could introduce as a tiebreaker, but it would end up flooding this thread to death.
Tempting, but I'm going to keep my vote where it is.
Noir is the best though.
If you were to run the game I'm paranoid you'll run, I'd be so very very in.
I have no knowledge of any of the rest of these, so I'd have to pass on the current 3 selections.
I would force realism into the game and make all of you end up dead! (not really.)
It looks like I'm getting interest for both Desolation and Edge of Midnight.
Reflection, Kakos, and Salty all seem interested in EoM, but Jacques, Egos, and MSP are all about Desolation.
Damn, people! Maybe I could run both? Would I be able to manage that?
(My loathing of humanity was at a high right then, right now I'm all 8-))
It seems like nobody wants to play CTech, which is a bit disappointing, but I'm sure I'll live. I'll look through my books tonight/tomorrow and see which system I've got more game ideas for.
So expect a new OP/recruitment for whatever going up on monday.
Welcome to the Locust Horde, everyone!
Also, for those who have problems with various Exalted... this is possibly the best thing ever written on the subject of heroism in Creation.
Not by me. I wish.
WALLOTEXT
But they are not the only heroes.
Let me tell you what it means to be Dragonblooded. To be Dragonblooded is to have a responsibility. To be Dragonblooded is to take up the sword to defend Creation. Every Dynast can ride, and shoot, and fight both bare handed and with a weapon, and lead troops into battle. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. The most fat, jaded, lazy bureaucrat of the Thousand Scales can take up a sword and fight a strong man to a standstill without use of a single Charm, and lead troops into battle with competence. The requirements for Lookshy Dragonblooded are even more strict. If you cannot learn to fight for Creation, Dragonblooded society has no use for you. They believe themselves to be the only force standing between Creation and that which would destroy it, and they act accordingly. That does not just include personal competence. To be Dragonblooded is not a title, or an adornment, but membership in a single nation. Only Dragonblooded, of all the Exalted, have a Charm that allows them to take their most hated Dragonblooded foe and instantly trust and love them like a brother to join together to fight a greater threat. That is their duty: that is their call. You say they have failed Creation in their stewardship. But they have saved it. Saved it once, and twice, and many times over. When they overthrew the Solars, they were dying in scores, in droves, in their hundreds and thousands, but they would not surrender. They would not break. They fought until every last one was gone, because the brotherhood does not retreat. When the Great Contagion broke the armies of the Shogunate and the survivors faced oncoming endless hordes of horrors from beyond reality, they did not lay down and die, or flee screaming and broken. Oh, a few may have, but the records are clear on the whole: they fought. They fought to the end, they forced the Fair Folk to scratch and claw and die for everything they wanted to grasp, and in some places they even won, the broken remnants of reality against an impossibly larger foe! And ever since, whenever anything has threatened Creation, any horror has run loose upon it, the Dragonblooded have marched. They have fought the Fair Folk. They have fought rogue gods. They have fought the armies of the dead. Some have failed, some have died, a few have even turned traitor, but the brotherhood of the Dragons still stands in the defence of Creation. Even now, at the beginning of the setting, the Dragonblooded are the two mightiest forces in Creation. They have a religion that venerates them, yes, but also one that orders them to treat mortals well, which is more than one can say for any other known religion in Creation. And they police themselves. Sometimes it is effective and sometimes not, but even now the realms of the Dragonblooded are the safest and most stable in Creation. Even now, in both the Realm and Lookshy, you can find mortals in position of power. Even now, the peasants eat, the spirits are kept doing their proper jobs, and the foes of Creation dare not yet enter, because that is the peace that the Dragonblooded fought and bled and died for. Everything in Creation, everything that lives, owes its life to the Dragonblooded, because it is they who have been the army that defended Creation since the Solars were overthrown and the Lunars left. Every Solar owes his life to the Dragonblooded, even if he owes his death to them as well. Creation might need a more powerful protector, but it could never ask for a more loyal and dedicated one. The Dragonblooded are heroes.
But they are not the only heroes.
Let me tell you what it means to be Lunar. To be Lunar is to be tougher than any other Exalt ever had to be. Lunars don't Exalt for trying to do something audacious and remarkable, like Solars. They Exalt because they didsomething audacious and remarkable. A Solar might Exalt for taking up a sword to defend his village against the Fair Folk, but a Lunar only Exalts if he survived doing that. A Lunar has to win, to overcome a trial that seems impossible, before they get any reward. That is the life of a Lunar in a nutshell. They do not have the overwhelming power of the Solars, nor the brotherhood of the Dragonblooded, nor the support of Heavens and certain knowedge of the Sidereals. And yet they survive nonetheless. There is no challenge the Lunars cannot survive. The fury of the Primordials could not destroy them. The Dragonblooded and Sidereals could not stop them from escaping. The Wyld twisted them, broke them at their very core, crippled that which made them Exalted, and the Lunars yet survived. They not only survived, they remade themselves. Without their patron, without the Solars, without anyone else, the Lunars forged themselves new Exaltation and survived still. If they could not inhabit Creation, they inhabited the Wyld, a place absolutely antithetical to life, and survived still. And they did not just simply survive, either, cowering like dogs at the edge of a campfire's light. They grew stronger. They seized places of power. They forged nations. And they forged each other. They found new Lunars and tattooed them as the Lunars now needed to survive. And they did this without Sidereal astrology or any other means of instantly finding out when and where one Exalted. They did this through constant vigilence and looking out for those who needed it most. Nobody, not even the Solars, have faced what the Lunars have. The Solars merely died. But the Lunars were broken down to their very soul. Every Lunar, everywhere, is broken. But they have not died. They have not surrendered and become the lapdogs of the Dragonblooded and received the considerable benefits of their strength. They have not turned their backs on Creation, either. They have not walked out into the Wyld and left everything behind. Despite everything, despite terror and betrayal and death, despite being wounded more than any other Exalt could even imagine, they remain steadfast and true to themselves above all. The Lunars are heroes.
But they are not the only heroes.
Let me tell you what it means to be Sidereal. There is no life harder than that of a Sidereal. To be Sidereal is to be chosen, from birth, although you neither knew nor asked for it. To be Sidereal is to Exalt and be told that now you must train to be the finest-edged weapon in Creation, that you will spend the rest of your incredibly long life protecting Creation, and that there is no time for weakness, for doubt, or for failure. You will do what is required of you, or you will die and another will be chosen who is of a finer mettle than you. And most every Sidereal you will ever meet was given that choice, nodded their head, and devoted their existence to keeping Creation from the abyss. You may sneer that Sidereals control the world. That is true, but it is nothing to be rejoiced about. Controlling the world is a literal thing for Sidereals, not figurative. They must espy every aspect of it. They must figure out when anything is going wrong. And then they must stop it. Ninety-nine Sidereals, to our knowledge, do this. Ninety-nine men and women work day in and day out for Creation, and their only reward is another assignment and knowing that Creation has gone on another day. They have given up friends. They can love, but will never be loved for themselves. They erased their very existences from Creation to better serve it; if their judgement on how to best serve Creation was wrong, it does not erase the sacrifices they have made in pursuit of the noblest goal there is. They don't have vacations, because there is no time and nobody to take their place. They can amass staggering wealth and power but will never be able to enjoy it. Some guide the Solars, some guide the Dragonblooded: in either case, they see young heroes who have their whole lives ahead of them and can do whatever they want with it, who have the ability, the sheer luxury of saying on any given day "screw this, I'm going to go do something else". That's the freedom the Sidereal will never have, can never have, but they will do their job nonetheless and try their damndest to help the Solars or Dragonblooded to save Creation. That is their reward - that Creation lives another day. Not adulation. Not even a thank you. Just a satisfactory result. And they die. Oh yes, they die. Sidereals are the longest-lived of all the Exalted. And yet barely any survive from before the Usurpation. Why? Because they are out, every day, doing what they think must be done to save the world. And many times they die doing it. And death might be a relief, except it's an abject failure which has taken out a key piece of the network that keeps Creation safe. You may not agree with the decisions they make, but only an ingrate or someone suffused with hatred could fail to be in awe at the sacrifices the Sidereals make for what they believe they have to do. Their lives are only the first step. Only a Sidereal could, and does, wield a weapon which is immensely more effective against someone they love. Not pretend to love. Not have convinced that he loves. Not said he loves. Loves. Truly. Deeply. That weapon was built because it would be used. Because to be a Sidereal is to put nothing above your task of defending Creation. Not yourself. Not the one your love. Not your desires. Not anything. You don't matter. You chose not to matter. You chose figuratively (and quite literally in the oldest cases) not to even exist, all in the desire, the drive, the duty to make sure that Creation doesexist. The Sidereals are heroes.
But they, too, are not the only heroes.
All of them are heroes. Not individually, of course - there's always individual exceptions. But collectively? Yes. Oh yes. Collectively, they have given more of themselves then anybody should ever be asked to do, and they have done it gamely and with excellence. They have all accomplished feats that border on and in many cases should have been impossible.
They are EXALTED. The name of the game is EXALTED. And the Exalted, all of them, are heroes.
The tragedy of the setting is that being heroic is not enough. Giving of yourself is not enough. Straining yourself to the utmost is not enough. It's too late, too hard, the enemies are at the gates and they cannot be denied. Not by the Solars, or the Dragonblooded, or the Lunars, or the Sidereals or anyone else.
Let me parse through my books and see what inspires me.
I can see if I can get Sundays off, although Rainfall not be a huge fan of my attendance rate for IRC games.
(Before worrying about Sundays, though, I should probably worry about character sheets.
Would all we need, program-wise, be IRC?
Also when are you planning to start the game up, as soon as or waiting until after Christmas?
I do quite enjoy having my Sunday nights free though.
Quite the dilemma.
Papillon, yes, that is correct time-wise.
:twisted:
Loknir the Unyeilding
Caste: Full Moon
Spirit Shape: A massive white Ram
Tell: his full white beard
Loknir long protected his people in the North. From incursions of all shape and size, Loknir met it head on. They called him the Great Ram, the Will of the Mountain. But it was not enough.
He was not enough.
As he saw the ruins of the people he was to keep safe, laid to waste at the hands of the Empire and it's thrice damned dogs of the Dragonblooded, his heart cried out for vengeance. He wanted to charge them all, rip them apart with his bare hands, to curse them with his last breath as he stood in a sea of blood. But his mind knew, knew that his death would be meaningless in the grand scheme, and that as a Steward of Creation he had a greater responsibility, one he could not shirk not even in the name of vengeance.
So with a heavy heart Loknir left the mountains of the North. He knew little, save that for the sake of Creation the Empire must fall. But simple destruction would not serve. There must be something to replace it, something to rise to keep the enemies of the world at bay. So Loknir waited. Today he wanders all the lands of Creation, eyes and ears open wide searching for the right time, the right place to make his presence known once again.
Ridiculously kickass. One of the 'environmental hazard' examples in the core book is:
"The Resplendent Lotus-Eater of 1000 Sanguine Sutras leaps across the speartips of the legions, her unholy soulsteel blade wailing with the agonies of an infernal chorus as she strikes down the officers below. Harmonius Jade, Solar of the Night Caste, leaps up, her caste-mark glowing as she activates her 'Graceful Crane Stance' charm to enter the Lotus-Eater's battlefield. As they battle for the souls and lives of the Legion, the soldiers beneath attempt to stab upwards at the battling Exalts" blah blah.
It's almost a kitchen sink setting, but it's all woven together with a bizarre logic that fits in giant mecha with swarms of soul-eating faeries and heroin-pissing dinosaurs and giant world-destroying dragons together, and it makes sense and isn't stupid. You're a character with absurd power(if you do it right) and there's not that many people out there who can stop you.
The mighty Primordials, rulers of everything, were cast down by your previous incarnations, and forced to live inside the body of their leader in the hellish demon world, while those of them you killed created the Underworld and whisper blasphemous thoughts to the people of Creation, hoping for all of existence to fall into the Void so that they can finally die for realz.
But still, you're one of the Exalted, and you can do awesome shit that people can't. It's great.
I find this intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
If you're not a martial artist using Ebon Shadow Style then I might have to punch you into a lawnchair.
There's not really any major setting differences between 1st and 2nd editions that I can recall off-hand. A Night Caste that wants to become an actual shadow is a very interesting concept. I like it.
EDIT: Ghandi, neat concept. A little bare-bones(which is right for a concept but I always find my 'concepts' end up being four pages long and a detailed history of Creation,) but I like muchly.
Right now I'm reading my Abyssal book and working on an idea for one them them as well. That way you have options.
:-P
It kicks ass. I have problems with the rules but the setting and the wide potential for storytelling in it is amazing.
In this game, for example...
We have a Dragonblood who has all but forsaken his clan and seeks a new path in life, one that he could not have possibly imagined and that challenges everything he has ever been taught.
A Sidereal who plucks at the strings of fate often to her own peril, and is caught between her affinity for her companions and the fact that she has to lie to them... perhaps even betray them.
And a wandering Solar from the backwoods of the East who is still discovering his true nature and finds himself at the forefront of the clash between the rulers of the kingdom and those who hide on the frontier.
It's been a lot of fun.
I've the basic concept for a rogue Abyssal down, but I can't really decide on a Deathlord for her to be running from. You care if I leave the Deathlord vague and we hammer it out later should you decide to go with her as a PC?
you shameless plugger you (<3)
I endorse this thread and I love the setting, but fair warning - Exalted's ruleset is not intuitive or sensical and it can be a headache. that said, the setting is wonderful and I encourage you all to play it and love it and bear with the bad rules. :P