[Exalted] Lords of the Hundred Kingdoms OOC

Cavalier · Post by **Cavalier** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 12:12 pm

I'm glad to hear so. My rough idea is of a martial arts scholar from Great Forks, who was on the way to the Threshold to participate in a tournament and found the occasion to rescue a column of travelers from bandits. After killing several outlaws and then flying into the wilderness to lead away the enraged bandit chief, Exaltation followed. The character was picked up and fostered by a Hundred Kingdoms Lunar of the Crossroads Society. Interest in Creation's secrets fostered by living with a sorcerer took root, but the character was unconvinced of certain aspects of the Silver Pact. On the other hand being casteless kind of sucked so the character was quick enough to be tattooed, earning a certain measure of respect for accomplishments during the trials. To pay off the blood-debt from the fostering (and to escape from an increasingly tense relationship) the character was sent to deliver a message from the mentor to Ma Ha Suchi.

Obviously, the full danger of that was not understood at the time. The character somehow survived, through application of wits and no small measure of luck, despite the Lunar Elder being pissed off by the message. At the same time while around the Nameless Lair the character was revolted at the society of barbarian beastmen Ma Ha Such was raising, and at his treatment of Dragon-Blooded prisoners, even those who had not Exalted. When the character found out that Ma Ha Suchi was stirring up the Arczeckh hordes against the Hundreds Kingdoms, a Motivation worthy of a Steward asserted itself: Protect the Hundred Kingdoms against the depredations of outsiders, especially other Lunars.

I'm not sure which martial arts style to favor; possibly not Lunar Hero, since the character was already an accomplished martial artist before Exaltation. Maybe one of the Terrestrial styles that could be picked up in the Confederation via Lookshy, or one suitable to enlightened mortals. I admit I'm still looking through sourcebooks for information and styles.

Also, hmm. How deadly is the game projected to be? Is a perfect defense mandatory for starting characters if they want to survive? I don't think it's going far into paranoia combos and other such dubious fun, but getting a basic perfect seems to be highly recommended. It just eats up a fair number of charms to get to.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 4:34 pm

@Lys: after rereading the Charm, I'm inclined to conclude that only Dodge-based Charms apply. It's actually perfectly logical that an Ability that is purely defensive would outshine an Ability that does boes offense and defense from a gameplay standpoint!
Personally I would split the mobility part of Athletics and merge it with Dodge, and create a new Ability for long efforts and feats of strength, but that's too much work.

@Cavalier: very good concept and backstory. I'm A-OK with it.
I intend to be somewhat lenient with the 'mandatory' fights as there are new players, so a fully optimized character with a 2/7 filter is not necessary, but having a good defense suite is advised for combat-orientated characters since they'll be on the first line.
Note that this leniency doesn't apply to fights you pick yourself

I've toyed with the idea of an "Anima Shield", an innate ability shared by all Essence-channelers (inspired by the Chi Aura from Weapons of the Gods), which would work like the nerf Twilight anima power (while Twilightoids would get their unnerfed power back), in order to reduce lethality and cancel ping damage from mortals. I'm not sure of it yet, though.

LadyTevar · Post by **LadyTevar** » Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:06 pm

Anything that cancels Ping Damage is a good thing LOL

Lys · Post by **Lys** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 12:45 am

Cavalier wrote:Ma Ha Suchi was stirring up the Arczeckh hordes against the Hundreds Kingdoms.

I thought the Arczeckh were Raksi's toys not Ma Ha Suchi's.

The Nomad wrote:@Lys: after rereading the Charm, I'm inclined to conclude that only Dodge-based Charms apply. It's actually perfectly logical that an Ability that is purely defensive would outshine an Ability that does boes offense and defense from a gameplay standpoint!

Well, Dodge does outshine Melee in defence. The dodge perfect defence is a mote cheaper than any other. The only perfect surprise negator is in dodge, and the only non-MA flurry breaker is in dodge. This essentially knocks Heavenly Guardian Defence down from "inefficient" to "useless". It's really too bad, but I guess I'll take Seven Shadow Evasion instead. Funny, my character is now more optimized but I'm not happy about it. ;.;

Though now I have to wonder if it's possible to gank the Unconquered Sun with a sufficiently powerful unexpected attack. Because of Valour 6, he refuses to dodge anything. Maybe he has a special charm for it?

EDIT - I've seen it suggested that RST should also be an Awareness charm, because detecting unexpected anything is normally an awareness roll. Also because the principal author of the Solar charmset said that, to keep the word count down, she deliberately left out a number of obvious charms that the players could fill in. Basically RST (dodge) and RST (awareness) should be merged like Call the Blade (melee) and Call the Blade (archery) are. Meaning you can buy one and get the other for free if you meet the requirements. That would work real nice, and keep the whole theme of charms for a given ability doing what they do better than those of a different ability. Let's face it, RST is doing Awareness better than Awareness does. I'll accept your decision without further comment if you say "no", but I figured I might as well throw it out there.

EDIT 2 - Surprise Anticipation Method was a late addition to the Awareness charms by a different author. Nobody takes it because it has a number of weaknesses such as high requirements, inapplicability to unrolled attacks, and automatic activation. The last one can kill you.

Cavalier · Post by **Cavalier** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 1:50 am

Page 222, MoEP: Lunars says Ma Ha Such had stirred up the Arczeckhi to invade the Hundred Kingdoms on a scale not seen in centuries. Then again the section there is ambiguous if it's talking about something Ma Ha Suchi has already done, or if it's an example of how to play Lunar Elders as completely insane.

Anyway, I'll finish filling in the background of the character tomorrow and submit the sheet for review then.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:49 am

Just wanted to check in saying that I'm still here. Charms-wise, I suppose I'll drop Sagacious Reading of Intent, switch Second Lore Excellency for Third, and perhaps take Phantom Arrow Technique. Or maybe Mob-Dispersing Rebuke from the War category?

I also still have no idea what to have my hearthstone do. Two dots in it, suggestions? Thematically appropriate to the character would be nice, but something completely random would be interesting as well.

I'll downgrade Temperance to 2 and upgrade Valor to 2, making things nice and boring even.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:31 am

Lys wrote: Well, Dodge does outshine Melee in defence. The dodge perfect defence is a mote cheaper than any other. The only perfect surprise negator is in dodge, and the only non-MA flurry breaker is in dodge. This essentially knocks Heavenly Guardian Defence down from "inefficient" to "useless". It's really too bad, but I guess I'll take Seven Shadow Evasion instead. Funny, my character is now more optimized but I'm not happy about it. ;.;

Melee counterattacks can only be used with Parry-based defenses, so your complaint that HGD is useless is invalid. Besides, it is a prerequisite to the neat Guarding Star Tactics. No Dodge Charm enables you to protect an entire unit, no wait, city, from having Mount Metagalapa fall on their heads.

Though now I have to wonder if it's possible to gank the Unconquered Sun with a sufficiently powerful unexpected attack. Because of Valour 6, he refuses to dodge anything. Maybe he has a special charm for it?

The Unconquered Sun doesn't use Solar Charms and I seem to remember he has a pretty insane perception Charm.

EDIT - I've seen it suggested that RST should also be an Awareness charm, because detecting unexpected anything is normally an awareness roll. Also because the principal author of the Solar charmset said that, to keep the word count down, she deliberately left out a number of obvious charms that the players could fill in. Basically RST (dodge) and RST (awareness) should be merged like Call the Blade (melee) and Call the Blade (archery) are. Meaning you can buy one and get the other for free if you meet the requirements. That would work real nice, and keep the whole theme of charms for a given ability doing what they do better than those of a different ability. Let's face it, RST is doing Awareness better than Awareness does. I'll accept your decision without further comment if you say "no", but I figured I might as well throw it out there.

Since RST has the same number of prerequisites as SAM (that is, zero) and lower Ability requirements (Dodge 3 vs Awareness 5), it is useless to merge them, and would allow RST to be used in combination with HGD, so nope. I stand firm in the fact that defensive Melee will lag behind Dodge in most areas.

EDIT 2 - Surprise Anticipation Method was a late addition to the Awareness charms by a different author. Nobody takes it because it has a number of weaknesses such as high requirements, inapplicability to unrolled attacks, and automatic activation. The last one can kill you.

SAM can be used when asleep (ie, Inactive). RST cannot... Sure there are still Charms that do not allow an opposed Awareness roll, but they're pretty rare.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 4:56 am

Hawkwings wrote:Just wanted to check in saying that I'm still here. Charms-wise, I suppose I'll drop Sagacious Reading of Intent, switch Second Lore Excellency for Third, and perhaps take Phantom Arrow Technique. Or maybe Mob-Dispersing Rebuke from the War category?

Pearl of Wisdom: try not to scatter yourself at chargen. You should be sure to tave a Charm to cancel penalties to a DV, and a Perfect Defense to avoid the really troublesome shit. Possibly a combo too (they're cheap at chargen, and now Combos can be modified for a 1 XP tax as per the Scroll of Errata) Then choose one or at most two areas of expertise, and be sure to excel at it.
I would suggest dropping the Lore training Charm and Excellencies for now, they're more 'empire building' and we'll start 'vanilla adventuring' so they're not really appropriate. You've Lore and Charms at a discount, so you can take it later. Since as per errataed chargen you can take any Charms (not half from Favored/Caste) I would round up my character to stand up against dangers if I were you.

I also still have no idea what to have my hearthstone do. Two dots in it, suggestions? Thematically appropriate to the character would be nice, but something completely random would be interesting as well.

Do you have access to Oadenol's Codex? I can look up some Earth, Water or Wood powers, since these are the ones you're likely to have.

I'll downgrade Temperance to 2 and upgrade Valor to 2, making things nice and boring even.

I don't want to frustrate you, it's just that Valor and Conviction are the two virtues I can't see any Exalt worth his salt as having set to 1.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 1:43 pm

Alright, question time:

What is the point of Ability Specialties?

I realized that the errata'd chargen gives me three additional bonus points. I think I'll spend one of those and get either a powerbow or a Dragon Tear Tiara. Would a powerbow have a setting for a hearthstone?

As for the other two bonus points, I may just spend them on enhancing abilities. Probably one into archery, and the last into integrity, or awareness, or occult.

I may take the Mind-Cleansing Gem, pg96 of Oadenol's Codex.

Still working on charms. If I drop some Lore stuff then I may pick up Seven Shadow Evasion. I have no idea about combos though. I'll take suggestions and advice on that.

Lys · Post by **Lys** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 2:55 pm

Since RST has the same number of prerequisites as SAM (that is, zero) and lower Ability requirements (Dodge 3 vs Awareness 5), it is useless to merge them, and would allow RST to be used in combination with HGD, so nope. I stand firm in the fact that defensive Melee will lag behind Dodge in most areas.

I said I would give no further comment, but I wasn't expecting to be misunderstood. Allow me to clarify: I was suggesting that there would be two RST charms that are merged much as there are three Call the Blade charms that are merged. SAM would remain separate and probably gain the awareness RST as a prerequisite. This to keep a Dodge charm from being better at Awareness (avoiding surprise) than Awareness is. Also SAM would be more worthy of requiring Ability 5 if it was a permanent charm instead of an automatic (it's a trap!) 1m one.

Yeah, sorry, I just have a thing about people not understanding me. I'll keep quiet now. >.>

Lys · Post by **Lys** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:11 pm

Hawkwings wrote:What is the point of Ability Specialties?

You get a bonus to the ability when the speciality applies. They are cheap enhancers to your abilities. If you were to take Melee (You Killed My Father, Prepare to Die) you could gain a bonus against anyone connected to your father's murder or murderer.

Specialities can also give flavour to abilities. For example, someone with War (Nobody Could be that Stupid) would gain a bonus any time they enacted a crazy plan that made the enemy think, "She can't be doing that, nobody is that stupid!". With that speciality you can force the game to reward you for making crazy military plans, and have them work because they're crazy.

You get four free specialities with the errata, so you don't need to spend any points to have some.

I realized that the errata'd chargen gives me three additional bonus points. I think I'll spend one of those and get either a powerbow or a Dragon Tear Tiara. Would a powerbow have a setting for a hearthstone?

I think artefact bows have at least one setting near the handle.

Still working on charms. If I drop some Lore stuff then I may pick up Seven Shadow Evasion. I have no idea about combos though. I'll take suggestions and advice on that.

I believe that it is pretty much universal wisdom among those who study the system that using bonus points to buy combos or charms is poor use of them.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 5:24 pm

I'm not using bonus points to buy charms, I'm using my normal charm allotment of 10. The bonus points I have are currently being used to enhance Abilities.

What mechanical bonuses to Abilities do Specialties give? It doesn't seem to say in the rulebook.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:18 pm

Each applicable specialty gives one additional die to pertinent rolls. You can have up to three natural (trained) specialties in a skill, but even if Charms or hearthstones give you additional specialties, no combination of specialties can grant more than three bonus dice.
Specialty dice doesn't improve the limit to the number of dice that can be gained by using Charms, except for Dragon-Blooded.
You can 'retrain' specialties for free if you already have three in a given Ability, but it takes time.

@Lys: I could readily accept making SAM a Permanent charm, and give the player options to customize the trigger (as long as they are set well beforehand).

Cavalier · Post by **Cavalier** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 8:02 pm

Well, preliminary character build. Are moonsilver tattoo artifacts allowed? Because they don't count as armor for Martial Arts purposes and can stack with real armor. That seems like a rather good deal if purchase is allowed.

Name:
Moonlit Owl
Caste:
No Moon Lunar
Concept:
Martial Scholar
Motivation:
To defend the Hundred Kingdoms against depredation

Intimacies:
Sifu Master Fang (Honorable Respect)
Occluded Moon Huntress (Guarded Appreciation)
Hundred Kingdoms (Protectiveness)

Totem Animal:
A great strix plumed in dark feathers.
Anima Banner:
Veil of misty purple flaring to silver as essence use increases, with a darkly colored, stylized Strix swirling the banner once it becomes iconic.
Tell:
Tufts of feathers, resembling an owl, around the ears.

Virtues:
Compassion 3 (Flaw)
Temperance 2
Conviction 2
Valor 2

Limit:
0/10 Curse of the Mother Hen

Attributes:
Strength 3
*Dexterity 5
Stamina 3
Charisma 2
Manipulation 1
Appearance 4
*Perception 4
*Intelligence 5
*Wits 4

Abilities:
Athletics 2 (+1 Combat)
Awareness 1
Dodge 5 (+1 Multiple Opponents)
Integrity 3
*Martial Arts 5 (+1 Duel)
Resistance 1
Linguistics 1 (Riverspeak: Great Forks, Old Realm)
Performance 2 (+1 Dance)
Stealth 1
*Survival 3
Lore 2
Medicine 1
Occult 2

Backgrounds:
Mentor 2
Reputation 1
Artifact 2
Artifact 1
Heart's Blood 1

Charms:
Prey's Skin Disguise (Knack)
Life of the Hummingbird (Knack)
Hide of the Cunning Hunter
Claws of the Silver Moon
First Perception Excellency
First Dexterity Excellency
Golden Tiger Stance
Wary Swallow Method

Martial Arts:
No Terrestrial/Celestial styles known

Thaumaturgy:
No Thaumaturgical Arts known

Spells:
No Sorcery Known

Combos:
None

Equipment:
Moonsilver Bracers (+3 Dodge, +2L Soak, 4 Attune)
Moonsilver Artifact Breastplate (6L/4B Soak, 0 Fatigue, 0 Mobility, 2 Attune)

Essence:
Level 2; Personal 22, Peripheral 40, 6 Committed
Willpower:
10
Dodge DV:
6 (+3)
Dodge MDV:
8
Join Battle:
5
Soak:
7B, 9L, 6A
Health Levels:
-0
-1 -1
-2 -2
-4
I
D D D

Attacks:
Clinch: Speed 6. Acc 10, Dam 3B, Rate 1
Kick: Speed 5, Acc 10, Dam 6B, PDV 4, Rate 2
Punch: Speed 5, Acc 11, Dam 3B, PDV 6, Rate 3

Background Info:
Mentor 2: Occluded Moon Huntress was the nearest Lunar able to effect a rescue from the Threshold when Moonlit Owl exalted. She provided instruction in the Lunar condition as well as new teaching as a sorcerer of the Crossroads Society. The fostering debt has been discharged, and though Moonlit Owl disagrees in some respects with the Silver Pact the former mentor remains a potentially important contact.

Artifact 2: Moonsilver Bracers. A gift from Occluded Moon Huntress at the end of the moonsilver tattoo trials.

Artifact 1: Moonsilver Breast Plate. Trophy of a past victory removed from the hands of a minor Raksha noble as a test of valor and wits.

Reputation 1: Moonlit Owl did surprisingly well in the Moonsilver tattoo trials, and so has earned the title of Nain-Ya, "Kin," among Lunar society.

Heart's Blood 1: Library of archived shapes.
-True Human Form:
-True Spirit Form: A dark strix of the forest.
-Housecat: An unassuming, perfectly normal tabby cat.
-Wolf: A great grey wolf of the forests, lean and sinuous.
-Bandit: The price of learning Prey's Skin Disguise.

Total XP:
0
Remaining XP:
0
Spent XP:
0
Detail:
N/A

BP spending :
5 Willpower (5)
2 Dexterity (6)
1 Intelligence (3)
4 Martial Arts (4)

Updated, decided how to allocate artifact points.

Lys · Post by **Lys** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:11 pm

The Nomad wrote:@Lys: I could readily accept making SAM a Permanent charm, and give the player options to customize the trigger (as long as they are set well beforehand).

I thought permanent means it has no triggger or cost, it just works. Unless the permanent charm is actually an upgrade to another charm, in which case the trigger is either the same or modified from the original. My idea was for SAM to be an upgrade for RST (Awareness) that would make it applicable to other things, that way you don't need Awareness 5 to have any surprise negator at all in that tree. But I guess only changing SAM would work too, just not as well.

I appreciate you taking the time to consider my requests. I try to not press on things too far because it goes on forever and everyone is unhappy, but I can't just keep silent about my concerns because I get all resentful and it poisons the game too. I've been trying to compromise between the two extremes, and keep any discussion limited in scope, but it's hard to do so. I really hope I'm not being obnoxious.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » Sat Jun 25, 2011 10:41 pm

Here's what I've got so far:

Name:
Caste: Twilight
Concept: Librarian
Motivation: Discover the secrets of Denandsor
Intimacies: High-ranking cult members, places of knowledge and learning
Anima Banner: An intricate golden lattice, suffused with a red glow, surrounded by a flaming fringe of blue and purple.

Virtues:
Compassion 2
Conviction 3 (flaw)
Temperance 2
Valor 2
Limit: 0/10 Heart of Flint

Attributes:
Strength 2
Dexterity 4
Stamina 4

Charisma 2
Manipulation 4
Appearance 2

Perception 3
Intelligence 5
Wits 3

Abilities:
Dawn
Archery* 4 (+1 POWERbow!)
Melee 1
War 3

Zenith
Integrity* 3 (+1 Supernatural Compulsion)
Resistance* 3

Twilight*
Craft(Air) 3
Investigation 3
Lore 5 (+1 First Age)
Medicine 3 (+1 infections and illnesses)
Occult 3

Night
Awareness* 3
Dodge 4

Eclipse
Linguistics* 3 (Riverspeak, Old Realm, High Realm, Low Realm)

(Favored and Caste with *)

Backgrounds:
Cult 2
Resources 2
Manse 2
Artifact 2

Charms:

Ox-Body Technique (-0)

First Archery Excellency
Essence Arrow Attack

Shadow Over Water
Seven Shadow Evasion

Third Medicine Excellency
Wound-Mending Care Technique

First Lore Excellency
Third Lore Excellency
Essence-Lending Method

Martial Arts: none
Thaumaturgy: none
Spells: none
Combos: ?

Equipment:
Essence: 2
Personal: 11
Peripheral: 26
Committed: 0

Willpower: 5
Dodge DV: 5
Dodge MDV: 5

Join Battle: 6
Soak: 4B/2L
Health Levels:
-0 -0
-1 -1
-2 -2
-4
I
Attacks:

Background Info:

Total XP: 0
Remaining XP: 0
Spent XP: 0
Detail:

BP spending :
1 - Artifact
3 - Archery
2 - Awareness
2 - Integrity
2 - Resistance
2 - Linguistics
2 - Lore
4 - Stamina

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:07 pm

Lys wrote: I thought permanent means it has no triggger or cost, it just works. Unless the permanent charm is actually an upgrade to another charm, in which case the trigger is either the same or modified from the original.

Absolutely not. Look only at Phantom Arrow Methodology. Doesn't count as Charm use, still costs 1 m per arrow. There are other examples but I'm too tired now to list them.

My idea was for SAM to be an upgrade for RST (Awareness) that would make it applicable to other things, that way you don't need Awareness 5 to have any surprise negator at all in that tree. But I guess only changing SAM would work too, just not as well.

Sorry, but if I allow RST to be applied to Melee or MA I just shoot Dodge in the foot. Never going to happen in my games.

I appreciate you taking the time to consider my requests. I try to not press on things too far because it goes on forever and everyone is unhappy, but I can't just keep silent about my concerns because I get all resentful and it poisons the game too. I've been trying to compromise between the two extremes, and keep any discussion limited in scope, but it's hard to do so. I really hope I'm not being obnoxious.

If I had to redesign Exalted (which I don't have the time to do except in infinitesimal amounts), I'd split Athletics in two and fusion one branch with Dodge, and give equivalent defensive options with Melee. The problem here is that I will cripple Dodge if I allow your custom modification. I see your point, but I simply can't let it pass without making Melee uberpowerful. It already has range extenders, incredible offense and counterattacks.

@Cavalier: Moonsilver tatoos are acceptable, but IIRC only the highest soak from armor applies (I'll have to check on this). Please remember that it cripples your infiltration abilities by leaving visible marks and permanently commits motes. It is effectively irreversible and can only be cloaked by effects that specifically allow you to hide your artifacts (IIRC Hide of the Cunning Hunter, which allows you to hide tatoos, doesn't hide tatoo artifacts). I've never used them in a recent game so I'll have to check those parts, though.

EDIT: I'll check the various CS later this week.

Lys · Post by **Lys** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 5:05 pm

The Nomad wrote:Absolutely not. Look only at Phantom Arrow Methodology. Doesn't count as Charm use, still costs 1 m per arrow.

Okay, so "permanent" in this case will mean that the charm can be used without using up an action. A permanent SAM can be activated for the cost of one mote and the Exalt can still fire up another charm or combo for that action, as well as do any one other things without needing to flurry. Correct? Let me write up the revised charm:

Surprise Anticipation Method

Cost: 1m; Mins: Awareness 5, Essence 2; Type: Permanent
Keywords: --
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: None

This charm guarantees success on awareness rolls, and the player can choose to invoke it any time such a roll is called. Success is guaranteed regardless of whether the Exalt is awake or asleep, active or inactive, in combat or out of it. It works just as well for social as it does for physical combat, and it can detect out of combat dangers such as pit traps, ambushes, poisoned food/drink, etc. The charm need not be called if the roll if the is already certain to succeed. An Exalt with Surprise Anticipation Method gets to roll against any harmful effect that her senses can conceivably detect, but not against those that are completely outside any sense available to her.

(Changes from Original: Applied errata, added permanency, removed automatic activation, clearly outlined effects to ensure mutual understanding)

Sorry, but if I allow RST to be applied to Melee or MA I just shoot Dodge in the foot. Never going to happen in my games.
...
The problem here is that I will cripple Dodge if I allow your custom modification. I see your point, but I simply can't let it pass without making Melee uberpowerful. It already has range extenders, incredible offense and counterattacks.

Dodge has Lightspeed Body Dynamics. Put up a dodged-based 2/7 filter and everyone with parry-based defences looks like a chump. With later dodge charms you can even defend other people with dodge like you can with parry. Nobody else I've seen talking of the issue has seemed to think that extending RST breaks dodge at all. Indeed the default assumption appears to be that RST can be used with PDV and associated charms, and yet dodge is still considered superior. But! I find the above change to SAM an acceptable compromise, and am quite happy to leave it at that if nothing else comes up. We can agree to disagree on what does and doesn't break the game. ^-^

EDIT - Forgot about this part.

If I had to redesign Exalted (which I don't have the time to do except in infinitesimal amounts), I'd split Athletics in two and fusion one branch with Dodge, and give equivalent defensive options with Melee.

If I were to redesign Exalted I would just changed Dodge to Defence. It would cover parry and dodge. I would also merge Thrown and Archery into Ranged, because Thrown is a bit of a red headed stepchild. The empty ability slot would be filled with a new Artillery ability used for operating siege engines, heavy weapons emplacements, and warstriders.

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 9:18 pm

Whoosh!

That's the sound of all that going way over my head. I'm just gonna go back to my beginner's corner now and figure out how things like DV work.

Lys · Post by **Lys** » Sun Jun 26, 2011 10:49 pm

Hawkings, you might want to take a look at the Exalted 20X Classes. They are quite helpful in understanding how the mechanics work together.

Lys · Post by **Lys** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 1:25 am

CHARACTER SHEET

Name: Mathilde Alitrude RÃ¡dgrÃdr de Adalgard, Royal Princesse of the Nords and of Ellendia
Caste: Eclipse
Concept: Warrior Diplomat Princesse
Motivation: Protecting Ellendia, Finding Avalon
Intimacies (Positive): Clarent, Avalon, Ellendia, House of Adalgard, the Nords, Amoneth Rei
Intimacies (Negative): None
Anima Banner: Brilliant aura of hazy golden-white flames, majestic wings of shimmering gold and crimson, a fiery bird soaring skyward on wings spread wide against the shining sun

Virtues: Conviction 5, Compassion 2, Valour 2, Temperance 2

Limit Break:

Crippling Despair - Alia has built her sense of self around a strong dedication to duty and a ruthless drive to do what must be done. Without them she feels helpless and lost, so the the weight of her mental and emotional stability rests almost entirely on the pillar of her conviction. Such reliance on a single virtue places considerable strain upon it, and when the strain becomes too much to bear, her conviction not only cracks, but shatters. Suddenly Alia cannot bear the consequences of her actions. Indecision paralyses her as she second guesses everything she has ever done, and Alia knows not what to do or in whom to trust as she sinks into complete despair.

Fully Crippling - Immediately abandons current course of action, and is unable to decide on any others. Cannot initiate combat of any sort. Defends normally if physically attacked, but suffers -2 internal penalty to offence from hesitation. Will not pursue or finish off beaten opponents. Cannot perform social attacks.

Partially Crippling - Can continue current quest for the sake an intimacy or trusted friend. Able to perform social attacks at a -2 internal penalty. Otherwise the same.

Duration - One scene in combat, or one full day otherwise.

Limit Conditions - Gains Limit whenever her actions or plans have negative unforeseen consequences.

Attributes:

Physical - Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2
Social - Charisma 2, Manipulation 4, Appearance 5
Mental - Perception 2, Intelligence 3, Wits 2

Abilities:

Caste Abilities
Bureaucracy 3
Linguistics 2 (Ellendian Riverspeak, Old Realm, High Realm)
Ride 3 (In Combat)
Sail 0
Socialize 5

Favoured Abilities
Melee 5
War 1 (Cavalry)
Integrity 3
Presence 3
Resistance 3

Other Abilities
Athletics 4
Awareness 5
Investigation 4 (Weaknesses)
Lore 2 (Confederation of Rivers)

Backgrounds:

Artefact 4 - Clarent, Sword of Owed Victory

The dress sword of Arturius Pendragon. Clarent is made primarily of orichalcum forged with starmetal and inlaid with blue jade. It is an exquisitely beautiful masterwork of the First Age, possessed of unmatched lightness and grace. It is also a vicious and dangerous weapon, with a blade of exceptional sharpness and strength. In the right hands Clarent seems preternaturally able to strike weak points in an opponent's defences.

Clarent was thought lost when Arturius fell. In reality it was taken and hidden by the tribe of his half-caste children, who had sided against their Sire in the Usurpation. The sword's absence from his tomb did not awaken a hungry ghost. Perhaps, in spite of their treachery, he had wanted them to have it. Clarent lay hidden for many centuries, almost forgotten, but in the chaos of the Great Plague and the Fair Folk invasion it was taken up by the descendants of Arturius' half-castes. It has since then become a symbol of the Grand Prince of the Nords.

Because of Arturius' vanity, his dress sword has the same properties as a Collar of Dawn's Cleansing Light. Anyone who wears or wields it will never be dirty or unkempt. Attunement provides the additional advantage of two dice to rolls for resisting illness or poison. Due to its incredible agility, Clarent's attuned wielder can cancel the penalty to called shots for 1m per attack. This will not work with range extension charms or when the sword is thrown.

Clarent has two hearthstone sockets, one on each hilt ring.

Royalty 3 - Alitrude is second in line to the throne of Ellendia, behind her older sister Sigilind. As a Royal Princesse, Alia rules over no lands and has no official offices or duties, but she commands considerable power and influence. If she wishes it her words and deeds can carry the weight of her father, King Alaric, but the people of Ellendia respect Alia in her own right.

Though she technically owns nothing of hers, even her own body, the Princesses is given considerable latitude in using the resources available to the Royal House of Adalgard. That is, provided that she uses them with the best interests of the Kingdom in mind. Less but still generous latitude is given her for personal matters. At present the situation in Ellendia is a bit difficult. The country is still recovering from the recent war, and it is largely felt that Alia would be more use at home than going off on foolish quests. As such the King is both unwilling and unable to spare much in the way of assets for her. However, he feels a debt of gratitude is owned due to Alia's bravery, insight, and heroism, so he has given her what he can.

Thus the Princesse Alitrude has been given the sword Clarent and an allowance equal to Resources 4. However, she is expected to keep in touch, regularly informing her kinsmen of her actions and whereabouts. Should a serious situation develop in Ellendia, she will likely be called back to attend to it. Failure to do so could result in the House of Adalgard cutting off support for its wayward daughter.

Charms:

Melee

First Excellency

Dipping Swallow Defence

Bulwark Stance

Presence

Second Excellency

Hypnotic Tongue Technique

Athletics

Graceful Crane Stance

Awareness

Surprise Anticipation Method

Linguistics

Sagacious Reading of Intent

Socialize

Wise-Eyed Courtier Method

Mastery of Small Manners

Combos:
N/A

Equipment:

Clarent, Sword of Owed Victory

Speed 4, Accuracy +7, Damage +8L, Defence +5, Rate 5
Min 2 Str, Min 3 Dex, Attune 10, Piercing, Disarming

(Stats are for attuned sword. Counts as an orichalcum weapon.)

Armoured Battlegown

+7L/9B, Mobility -1, Fatigue 0, May be concealed under heavy jacket or cloak

The gown is a compromise between high fashion and rugged utilitarianism. It is generally acceptable for social events provided that the gathered company understands no time could be made to find more appropriate attire. The armour plating has the same qualities as perfect lamellar. It can be added to or removed from the gown in double the time it would take to do so normally.

Target Shield

DV +1, Mobility -1

Jackknife

Speed 4, Accuracy +1, Damage +1L, Defence 0, Rate 3

An easily hidden, folding pocket knife that can be opened with one hand. Alia carries several of these on her person. Jackknives are called "canifs" by the Nords.

Lancer

A fine Nordic warhorse. He is well trained, loyal, intelligent, able to recognize his master, and generally obedient of her orders. Lancer has a saddle, bridle, barding equivalent to a buff coat, and a number of bags and pouches for carrying equipment.

Miscellaneous

Fighting gauntlets, riding boots and gloves, travelling cloak, travelling clothes, parasol, tent, bed roll, princely seal, various supplies and necessities.

Essence: 2 Personal: 16 Peripheral: 35 Committed: 10

Willpower: 10 MDV: 7

Join Battle: 6 Surprise Attack: 5 Surprise Social: 9

Parry DV: 9 Dodge DV: 6

Total Soak: 7A/8L/11B Armoured: 7L/9B Natural: 1L/2B

Health Levels: -0 / -1 / -1 / -2 / -2 / -4 / I / D / D

Attacks:

Clarent - Speed 4, Accuracy 17, Damage 10L, PDV 8, Rate 5, Tags P/D
Jackknife - Speed 4, Accuracy 11, Damage 3L, PDV 5, Rate 3

Armoured Punch - Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 7B, PDV 6, Rate 2, Tags M
Armoured Clinch - Speed 6, Accuracy 9, Damage 5B, PDV 0, Rate 1, Tags C/M/P

Naked Punch - Speed 5, Accuracy 6, Damage 2B, PDV 4, Rate 3, Tags N
Naked Kick - Speed 5, Accuracy 5, Damage 5B, PDV 2, Rate 2, Tags N
Naked Clinch - Speed 6, Accuracy 5, Damage 2B, PDV 0, Rate 1, Tags C/N/P

Background Story:
History of the Hokuoujin & Exaltation of Alia of the Wind

Bonus Points:
5 Willpower
2 Conviction
15 Abilities
2 Backgrounds

Experience Points:

Earned
0

Spent
0

Remaining
0

Edit History:

July 23, 2011 - Added BPs for background description, wrote some missing figures.

July 29, 2011 - Linked to background story, described artefact sword.

July 30, 2011 - Detailed equipment, finished derived figures, added attacks.

July 31, 2011 - Added Limit Break.

August 1, 2011 - Finished backgrounds.

August 5, 2011 - Cleaned up some of the writing.

The Nomad · Post by **The Nomad** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:26 am

The new SAM lacks an important proviso: it cannot be activated if the character can't snap out of the Inactive state by himself (ie, knocked out cold or dying).

I will simply go by the original wording of the Charm, just make it Permanent and add that the player can chose to activate it when the Per+Awareness is rolled.

Let us drop the system argument now, please, else the newbie players will walk away before the game even starts :sad:

Lys · Post by **Lys** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 2:11 pm

The Nomad wrote:The new SAM lacks an important proviso: it cannot be activated if the character can't snap out of the Inactive state by himself (ie, knocked out cold or dying).

Oh right, sorry. We will consider it as acting as such.

I will simply go by the original wording of the Charm, just make it Permanent and add that the player can chose to activate it when the Per+Awareness is rolled.

Well, that pretty much is what I did. I just explicitly outlined the implications of the original wording with the errata added. I believe we are in complete agreement regarding SAM and the matter is closed.

Let us drop the system argument now, please, else the newbie players will walk away before the game even starts :sad:

"We can agree to disagree on what does and doesn't break the game. ^-^"

We can move on to other things! Like, what does everyone think about my character?

Hawkwings · Post by **Hawkwings** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 2:30 pm

I can tell that interacting with two willpower 10 characters is going to be fun.

Even more fun when they disagree on something...

Cavalier · Post by **Cavalier** » Mon Jun 27, 2011 6:41 pm

Well, the errata character generation rules make it cheap to max out willpower, and there is just so much that demands willpower use. Especially a lot of Lunar charms require a WP point. I'd really suggest you should raise your a bit since WP 5 may leave you vulnerable to being drained.

And for my part I'm not quite sure what the best direction for my character is. The compassion-oriented build, with Life of a Hummingbird to avoid having to kill, is a distinct uh... difference from the conviction and valour flaws. At the same time though it seems my character doesn't really do anything unique aside from shape changing. I'd kind of like to learn sorcery and do things with spirits, and that might work if Hawkwings focuses on the crafting and technology aspect of Solars. On the other hand I could refocus and build a Deadly Beastman Transformation killer with Compassion 1 and a Lone Wolf valour flaw, to get the Lunar as Werewolf archetype down. And some more stealth and athletics and so on to build on martial arts as a ninja. On the other hand that probably doesn't add as much overall even if it is a more distinct niche.

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[Exalted] Lords of the Hundred Kingdoms OOC

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