General Exalted Thread

Reader mode
It's good protection against the "surprise oath" tactic some PCs seem to be very fond of, where you have a normal conversation, maybe even pretend to be mortal and then suddenly bind the other party to their word.
 
The "demon trick" with Quv, incidentally, is that he's honest, reliable and trustworthy and will legitimately safeguard anything you pass to him for the duration of your rental, and will return what you left with him when you want it.

... then you get distracted and forget to reclaim what you left with him (because he's immobile when summoned so if you have to dash off somewhere he can't follow you), or some asshole Sidereal banishes him and then potentially summons him and lets the time on your rental tick out. And then Plot Happens because now your word is in the possession of a Second Circle Demon who now owns your word and can use it for whatever he wants, or sell it to others.

If that fucks you over, just remember whose soul he is.
 
Wait, are you saying if I give him my word to safeguard, forget yo reclaim it...he can now swear oaths in my name?

Oh man. The potential that has...
 
Bel said:
Wait, are you saying if I give him my word to safeguard, forget yo reclaim it...he can now swear oaths in my name?

Oh man. The potential that has...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yes. Just like if you're careless, you can render yourself permanently mute by giving your voice to the Weaver of Voices.

Second Circle Demons are things you shouldn't brush off. They're called demon lords for a reason. Forgetting that they're demon lords and just calling them "second circle demons" promotes sloppiness.
 
@EarthScorpion the other question I have with respect to him is, he's not an infallible guard of his property, surely? Although a summoner's binding can't compel him to give up stuff, you can presumably raid him, find stuff inside, and steal it, no?
 
Kuciwalker said:
@EarthScorpion the other question I have with respect to him is, he's not an infallible guard of his property, surely? Although a summoner's binding can't compel him to give up stuff, you can presumably raid him, find stuff inside, and steal it, no?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah, it's literally inside him. You can totally break in through one of his mouths, smash out his gold teeth, and dungeon-crawl inside him, though he'll try his best to keep his stuff safe.
 
EarthScorpion said:
The "demon trick" with Quv, incidentally, is that he's honest, reliable and trustworthy and will legitimately safeguard anything you pass to him for the duration of your rental, and will return what you left with him when you want it.

... then you get distracted and forget to reclaim what you left with him (because he's immobile when summoned so if you have to dash off somewhere he can't follow you), or some asshole Sidereal banishes him and then potentially summons him and lets the time on your rental tick out. And then Plot Happens because now your word is in the possession of a Second Circle Demon who now owns your word and can use it for whatever he wants, or sell it to others.

If that fucks you over, just remember whose soul he is.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
And here I thought the actual demon trick was that you could totally use him as the world's best siege weapon.
  • Summon him
  • He turfs out the occupants
  • Send him back
  • Voila! Instant fallen fortress.
And it's even amusingly in theme for him too because his arrival deprives them of safety and all the things they would protect.
 
Salty said:
And here I thought the actual demon trick was that you could totally use him as the world's best siege weapon.
  • Summon him
  • He turfs out the occupants
  • Send him back
  • Voila! Instant fallen fortress.
And it's even amusingly in theme for him too because his arrival deprives them of safety and all the things they would protect.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Yeah, uh, the sorcerer in question is going to have problems casting a long ritual spell while being stabbed repeatedly by the people who don't want him marking demonic runes and invocations all over the walls.
 
What happens to the stuff he guards if he permanently dies? Can you pull them out of his body or are they destroyed forever?
 
EarthScorpion said:
Yeah, uh, the sorcerer in question is going to have problems casting a long ritual spell while being stabbed repeatedly by the people who don't want him marking demonic runes and invocations all over the walls.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You'll never get anywhere in life if you let a little thing like people trying to kill you get in your way!

After all, that's what the cover of night and a bunch of Blood Apes is for.
 
EarthScorpion said:
Yeah, uh, the sorcerer in question is going to have problems casting a long ritual spell while being stabbed repeatedly by the people who don't want him marking demonic runes and invocations all over the walls.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well, I mean. I could totally see an Infernal doing that with their five second version of the spell, entirely because it would be hilarious. A completely inefficient use of the ability, of course, but, well, given the type of people who play them...
 
Accelerator said:
No resurrection, time travel, interfering with actual exaltations, and defense trumps offense?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The first two, yes.

Some people like the third, some don't. Personally I'm not a big fan.

The fourth isn't really a narrative rule the way the first three are. It's more like a patch for 2e's mechanical issues. In a 3e game, you don't really need it. Although it's still a jerk ST move to mess with the ways PCs defend themselves.

I'd add two more rules.

First, Exalted isn't winnable. Might not be lose-able either. You can't create Make Good Decisions Prana. You can't create a Third Age, more glorious than the first, and then just say "happily ever after". Things can always go wrong. And maybe Oblivion or something can actually bring the setting to a permanent bad end, but then again maybe it can't.

Second, the Exalted are un-chump-able. They can fail and die, but not in lame ways that they can't at least try to defend themselves from. So when Saturn makes her mark against Rakan Thulio, and tries to erase him from existence, she fails. Even if he's Essence 1. It would be super lame to have the GM tell you "oops, you don't exist anymore" so therefore Saturn has to fail.

Some people will also include power ceilings on the rules list, saying that you can't have a splat stronger than Solars or an army better than the Dragon-blooded or beings stronger than Primordials. I'm not a big fan of that though.
 
Sanctaphrax said:
The first two, yes.

Some people like the third, some don't. Personally I'm not a big fan.

The fourth isn't really a narrative rule the way the first three are. It's more like a patch for 2e's mechanical issues. In a 3e game, you don't really need it. Although it's still a jerk ST move to mess with the ways PCs defend themselves.

I'd add two more rules.

First, Exalted isn't winnable. Might not be lose-able either. You can't create Make Good Decisions Prana. You can't create a Third Age, more glorious than the first, and then just say "happily ever after". Things can always go wrong. And maybe Oblivion or something can actually bring the setting to a permanent bad end, but then again maybe it can't.

Second, the Exalted are un-chump-able. They can fail and die, but not in lame ways that they can't at least try to defend themselves from. So when Saturn makes her mark against Rakan Thulio, and tries to erase him from existence, she fails. Even if he's Essence 1. It would be super lame to have the GM tell you "oops, you don't exist anymore" so therefore Saturn has to fail.

Some people will also include power ceilings on the rules list, saying that you can't have a splat stronger than Solars or an army better than the Dragon-blooded or beings stronger than Primordials. I'm not a big fan of that though.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

General Exalted Debate, Third Edition(Actually 2nd)

I got a good quote for this.
You ask what it needs to save Creation? You propose schemes, solutions, stratagems to put it beyond risk or threat of destruction, to safeguard it from harm and deliver it into eternal and harmonious accord?

Then I say this to you, you labour in futility. What you seek to do is, in its entirety, impossible. You cannotcreate a permanent peace, set Creation beyond the spectre of war and conflict forever. For nothing lasts forever, save for the Exaltations, and perhaps not even those. Who can say what will come ere the dawn of the new Age, or the next? No, however high and strong you build your tower, in time its foundations will wear away to nothing, and it will fall.

But. But.

An eternal peace cannot be reached, not by man or god or even, I think, by Exalted Host. Too many forces stand opposed to such, not the least of which are time and humanity itself. But a lasting peace, now - one that will carry the years well, and remain after you have gone, long enough for another to, perhaps, take up its reins... that, now, that can be done. It will not guarantee an eternity for Creation, for your legacy will still crumble in time. But you will be dust by then, and must trust those who come after you. Eventually, all must step back and allow their children to carry their torch, and to think you can arrange matters such that they never need to is arrogance - do you truly think that none but you can defend Creation, even past your death?

So. A lasting peace. One that will not remain forever, but which will safeguard Creation for a time, before it fades away for others to take up its mantle and build kingdoms of their own. They may do so. They may not. For us ancestors, we can do naught but trust in their judgement, and build what we can now. But even a lasting peace is not an easy, or simple affair. Not in all the history of Creation has such a thing been done, for scuffles marked the First Age to the point of breaking time itself, and the warring of the Shogunate against itself is legendary. There is no simple path to peace, no stratagem that can be encapsulated in a single line, or even a single tome. It is perhaps the most complex undertaking imaginable, dependent on all who aid and oppose it. To think that such a goal could be sought and summarised in a single course of action - however lofty a goal it might be, even to the level of destroying the Exaltations or curing the Great Curse - is madness. These things will not bring peace in and of themselves.

No. I shall tell you the cost of a lasting peace. It costs work. Every day. Every week. Every year, it costs work. It costs battles and betrayals. Choices and challenges. Dilemmas and dichotomies. You must make decisions that seem unsolvable, while never losing sight of your path. You must face down enemies and allies both, while still being admitting to your errors. You must listen to those you govern, without letting them set the course to anarchy. You must take every individual obstacle and find the right path through it, even when the path is murky and what is right is unclear.

The Exalted can rule effectively. The Exalted can rule efficiently. But no Charm, no magic, nothing in all existence can tell one how to rule wisely. There is no ability, magic or mundane, that will reveal to you the wisest course of action - only the most effective. One is not the other, and it is important to remember this. For what you need to create a lasting peace is the wisdom to rule well, and that cannot be taught or bought or caught by any means, even experience. It is a challenge to one's own soul, and one in which the Exalted are no better equipped than any mortal, for wisdom guides one in what they use their power for, rather than merely in using it.

You speak of "saving Creation" as if it is something you plan out in a day, or a week, or a year. As if one can simply find the right thing to do, the right button to press, and all will be well. But there is no such thing, and if you think otherwise, you fail to appreciate the magnitude of the task you set yourself. It is not something you can plan out in advance, for so very much of it must be done in reaction to what you find as you do it. It is not something that will hinge on a single quest or set-up, for it must change in reaction to every force that seeks to destabilise it. The way to save Creation is not some great undertaking or strategy or plan to accomplish. It is simply to rule wisely and well, and never falter in either.

And that cannot be done in anything less - or for anything more - than a lifetime.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 
Last edited:
Blessed Regime Instruction 2.0

Cost: 5m
Minimums: Medicine 3, Essence 2
Type: Simple (One Hour)
Keywords: Combo-OK
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Flawless Diagnosis Technique, Wound-Mending Care Technique

This Charm is a Dramatic Action in which the Solar composes a treatment plan. These plans range from diets, meditative yoga schedules, and carefully measured prescriptions. Treatment plans can prevent a malady, such as Sickness, Poison, or many kinds of Crippling conditions.

Treating or preventing a mundane malady has a Difficulty of 1, such as composing a healthy diet, treating arthritis, or ensuring a healthy pregnancy. Difficulty 3 treatments works on conditions that require magical aide, such as avoiding supernatural diseases or healing Charm-enhanced injuries. Difficulty 5 treatments could encompass numerous lesser plans, serve as a program for enlightening a Mortal's Essence, or improving the chances of a Terrestrial Exalt passing their Breeding onto the next generation.

If the Solar rolls five or more threshold successes on this roll, she may invoke permanent Medicine Charm such as Wholeness-Restoring Meditation as part of the prescription. However, treatment plans created with Blessed Regime Instruction cannot heal Amputations.

The Solar then selects an intimacy her patient holds as an anchor for this plan, which can be anything, such as loyalty towards the Solar or to the treatment itself. So long as the patient maintains faith, following the plan counts as supernatural treatment, and all attached effects apply in full.

Design Notes:
So I realized while I was walking home the other day that the original version of this charm was kind of scattershot. I have created what I feel is a better take on the concept.
The basic use-case for this Charm is as follows: You create a plan to either treat or prevent some medical condition. Then you target an intimacy the patient holds to hang the treatment on. So long as the patient believes in that intimacy and follows the treatment, it has Magical Effect.
A sort of 'Implied' thing I was considering doing but didn't want to bloat the charm with, was a specific Procedure that a DB could do which improves their Breeding rating in s me balanced way; that way this charm could call out that procedure without eating up lots of space, but it didn't pan out.
 
Shyft said:
The Solar then selects an intimacy her patient holds as an anchor for this plan, which can be anything, such as loyalty towards the Solar or to the treatment itself. So long as the patient maintains faith, following the plan counts as supernatural treatment, and all attached effects apply in full.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This is intriguing. Just what intimacy the user "hangs" the treatment plan on could make for some very interesting situations.

I can see healing up a former/recently defeated foe with this charm, then tacking it onto an intimacy of grudging respect/loyalty towards the caster. It would make for a kind of "and don't forget I didn't just straight up kill you" condition. If the attached intimacy began to be corroded or lessened (perhaps through planning further rebellion against the Solar's authority?) would the healing effect slowly wear off as it happens, first causing scars to ache and eventually grievous wounds to reopen?

Healing up your mortal or non-exalted allies and attaching the treatment plans to intimacies of loyalty to your nation or cause could be amazing. I'm picturing a Solar medic making difficulty 5 treatment plans for already trained Tiger Warriors to awaken their Essence, having them do extra push ups, sit ups, and meditation as part of the regimen. Helping them push themselves to the limits might even assist in making them potential future candidates for Exaltation.
 
Sanctaphrax said:
Second, the Exalted are un-chump-able. They can fail and die, but not in lame ways that they can't at least try to defend themselves from. So when Saturn makes her mark against Rakan Thulio, and tries to erase him from existence, she fails. Even if he's Essence 1. It would be super lame to have the GM tell you "oops, you don't exist anymore" so therefore Saturn has to fail.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Ehhh, depends on your definition of 'chumpable'. Personally, I think an important part of Exalted is that it respects the very cynical approaches, where the best way to kill an opponent is to get a dozen skilled fighters to shank him three dozen times when the sucker is on the loo. The Exalted should totally be able to go out like Julius Ceasar, mobbed and butchered without any hope of survival, as a consequence of their decisions and their path in life.

Much of the Usurpation went down like that, I think. The Solars died ignominious, inglorious deaths, because the victory of the Dragonblooded was to crush the idea that the Lawgivers were the protagonists of the story.
 
Last edited:
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Back
Top