Cast out. Gotten out of the way. Kicked out to the middle of nowhere. It's not "exile" per se but it's the closest that it gets without actually being dragged before a Magistrate and banished from the Scarlet Empire. A month ago you were being fed grapes and fanned by servants (or at least the ambiance was there) in the greatest bastion of technology and wealth in the world. Today you're out on a grand mission to the absolute middle of nowhere. You've been given complete authority to remould the satrapy in your own image (nobody in the Scarlet Empire says "king" - kings are what barbarians call their dirt-covered warlords - but you have all the right sort of power. If only it was over someplace worthy of you!) But as you survey your charge, you can't help but feel that the material you have been given to mould in your own image is, well, mold.
And since it is a satrapy, they're still expecting tribute, and will probably make some demands upon you. Halfway across the world from the Empire and you can't even get away from them completely.
But young as you are, inexperienced as you are, cast out as you are, you are still a Prince of the Earth. The power of the Elemental Dragons runs through your blood; yours is the power that turned back the Age of Nightmares, that saved Creation from calamity time and again, and that conquered and tamed the world. This might be a punishment assignment to a place where the most eventful happening in a week is an errant goat, but you'll turn it into something great. And show them, show them all.
Assessing what you've actually got on hand comes first, though. Where were you sent?
[ ] A group of quiet villages on an island in the Great Western Ocean
This might actually be even duller than you had previously imagined. It's a stopover on one of the more minor trade routes, where ships bearing pearls and fire-flowers stop by to resupply with salted fish and fresh timber and maiden tea (fire-flowers have a bad habit of setting things on fire). The forests inland are rumored to be haunted, but given the number of logs you see rolled in it can't really be that haunted.
Advantages: Ample food and lumber, hearty population, pleasantly isolated, ocean trade route, few enemies
Disadvantages: Small population, unpleasantly isolated, few metal supplies, haunted forest
[ ] A collection of tents out in the cold North
"Satrapy" is a funny term, this group of nomads owes tribal fealty to the Scarlet Empress and they'll listen to you as her representative, but they don't really have a distinct homeland as such. They are exceptionally good fur trappers and the hats are all the rage back home which is the only reason the Empire would even bother with them, but you are not feeling good about living in a tent. Even a big tent. They're superstitious too, all this talk about a "white fog"
or "white walkers" or something, your Skytongue is a little rusty.
Advantages: Doughty population, nomadic, fur trade
Disadvantages: Insecure food supply, primitive, nomadic
[ ] A walled and decorated city in the hot South
At least you got sent to something resembling civilization, a poor imitation though it is. An outpost along one of the innumerable veins that carry wealth from the South into the hands of the Scarlet Empire, it's got a bit of money, plenty of lodgings and most importantly, a great big five-dragon flag to fly on the highest parapets. The people are strange and their gods are stranger, but nobody makes a fuss about the Immaculate Doctrines this far out, especially not when there's money to be made. The dunes are dangerous, filled with lion people, skinless night-walkers and human bandits alike, but this is a good enough locale that you might even decide to stay instead of fleeing at the first opportunity.
Advantages: moneyed, not completely primitive, city walls, good overland trade route
Disadvantages: religious tensions, insecure water supply, not isolated, little room for expansion
[ ] A colony on the Dreaming Sea
The relationship between the Scarlet Empire and the Dragon-Blooded state of Prasad is... complex, and there are a collection of small redoubts that the Empire maintains to fly the flag. They are broadly tolerated as long as they don't appear to be getting too big for themselves, but there have been times the Imperial Dragons in them went out for a shopping trip and came back to a ruin. On the one hand you have access to an empire (you won't flatter it by using a capital E) of dragons (you won't flatter them by using a capital D), on the other hand you'll be perpetually under their gaze. Still, it's the closest thing to real civilization that a castaway can get.
Advantages: very nearly civilized, good location, educated population
Disadvantages: under the thumb of a dragon empire (small d, small e), small population, many enemies
[ ] A puppet kingdom in the Scavenger Lands
The most populous region of barbarians in Creation has never been fully subjugated but a number of smaller principalities have sworn themselves to the Scarlet Empire in hopes of being protected from their numerous and belligerent foes. Sometimes it even works. This one is a particularly sorry example - you can ride across it in a day, there are kids playing hide-and-seek in the throne room and you find the "king" at the pub. Even worse, he refers to you as "my dragon friend," and the legal fictions surrounding your place here mean you probably can't kill him for the insult. Still, he's happy to hang on your every word, so free reign is free reign.
Advantages: central location, ample room for expansion
Disadvantages: incompetent advisors, many many enemies
Of course the circumstances of your exile are nothing without the root cause. How did you get sent out this far?
[ ] Dueling
Technically dueling is illegal in the Scarlet Empire, but with ten thousand dragons all concerned with their honour it happens pretty regularly. It's rarely lethal - being openly responsible for the death of a Dragon is a much more serious affair than any mere duel. You were more concerned with your honour than most and you were a regular sight in the open secret rings and clubs. You made the mistake of dueling an elder; your family sent you far away in hopes that maybe they'd cool down about it in a few decades. (Gives a bonus to Martial and especially personal combat, but you will have a powerful Enemy)
[ ] Embarrassment
There is a crime that is greater than actual crimes in the Empire, and that is the crime of being an embarrassment. Really, how were you supposed to know that the noodles were greased, or that the Matriarch's favorite concubine had an allergy? And really the incident with the singing swans was everybody's fault but yours. And the bit where you chased a spy while ferociously wielding a breadroll was for the good of the Empire! Needless to say your family wanted you out of the way as soon as possible. (Gives a bonus to Diplomacy and especially in audacious acts, but rumors of your impropriety may follow you)
[ ] Decadence
Dragons are expected to have a taste for the finer things in life, enthusiastically and to excess, but there's a very careful dance about appearing to be virtuous at the same time. You failed in this masquerade and were uncloaked as a profligate and a layabout, and maybe you sort of deserved it a little. Your family sent you out to the middle of nowhere in hopes that mortal danger and a lack of nice things would straighten you out. (Gives a bonus to Stewardship and especially in acquisition of goods, but you'll have a spending habit to feed)
[ ] Usurpation
Speaking of careful dances, getting a rival out of the way is a carefully-orchestrated weaving of embarrassment, incompetence and vice that culminates in your target being declared unfit to be a Dragon. It's a beautiful thing when it works, but you got caught and had the tables turned on you. Your family wants you out of the way so you don't catch a knife to the back. (Gives a bonus to Intrigue and especially to plotting, but you will have a relentless Enemy)
[ ] Revolution
An especially careful dance is the one the Dragons do around the Immaculate Doctrines, which stipulate a lot of noblesse oblige and being a leader worthy of the mantle of Dragon and a whole lot of NO FUN. Most Dragons who are not monks or aligned with the Immaculate Order pay lip service to the Doctrines or donate large sums in lieu of personal piety, but many take them seriously. You took them so seriously you started a peasant revolt against a Dragon who was abusing his subjects. Your family got you out of the way so you couldn't spread that sort of thing any further - leave it to the real monks, at the very least! (Gives a bonus to Piety and especially to dealings with Immaculate believers, but you will cause religious strife among non-Immaculate believers)
[ ] Impiety
The other side of the coin; you delved into forbidden knowledge that is contrary to the orthodoxy of the Realm, whether it was secrets from gods and demons or in the dusty books of ancient Anathema libraries. Your curiosity got the better of you when you were found stealing tomes belonging to a sorcerer. Your family couldn't see you branded a heretic without the shame of it being cast on them as well, so they were happy to send you somewhere where
you wouldn't draw processions of monks declaring your sins. (Gives a bonus to Learning and especially in occult matters, but you will cause religious strife among Immaculate believers, and have an esoteric Enemy)
And before you can even think about your name and how it's going to be engraved upon history, there is your House Name: your immediate family, your extended family, your extended extended family and all the ancestors you are expected to not disgrace are all weights upon your shoulders as a Dragon of the Realm. You are of which House?
[ ] House Mnemon
The most powerful House headed by the Empress' most powerful daughter, builders par excellence. Pious but gifted in the arts of sorcery, they walk a tightrope that very few can manage. Expectations upon you (even as an outcast) will be extremely high, and Mnemon's power draws the jealousy and ire of dragons from every House.
[ ] House Ledaal
The keepers of a thousand secret lores and some say the true masters of the Realm, the Ledaal are always bringing illumination into dark places. You'll be expected to give them interesting occult knowledge or some of the more interesting artifacts that you find, but if you can return to their good graces you should have access to the same.
[ ] House Cathak
The keepers of martial honor and the mailed fist of the Empire. Harsh disciplinarians and demanding of their mortal subjects, the Cathak are the proudest and most traditionalist House. They are well aware of their standing in the world, confident in the support of the Immaculate Order and full well happy to fight for anything, any time.
[ ] House Ragara
The bank of the Empire, the Ragara are owed money by basically everyone. Business is their battlefield (well, battlefields are their battlefield, but business comes close). The superpower of being able to turn an entire battlefield into a fiery apocalypse is nothing compared to the superpower of having more money than everyone else. Financial support for your satrapy will be better, but you'll be expected to give more back, too.
[ ] House Sesus
A mighty martial house with great standing with the Imperial Legions, but little more than that. Still, when you have a hammer the size of a small horse it's easy to succumb to the temptation of seeing everything as a nail. They are not as traditionalist or punishing as Cathak to their friends, but they are not kind overlords and worse enemies.
[ ] House Cynis
Traders in luxuries, forgers of connections and the greatest matchmakers to ever walk Creation. It doesn't matter if it's an advantageous marriage, a giant war beast to ride into battle on, or the exotic components for your sorcerous ritual, the Cynis know what you want and how to get it for you for the right price. They're all too understanding of the foibles of humanity and dragonkind, and they'll be more inclined to deal with you despite your outcast status.
[ ] House Peleps
The keepers of the Imperial Navy, the Peleps are the unquestioned masters of the waves. As the Empire is an island nation (even if the "island" is enormous), they are the first line of defense against foreign invasion and the Wooden Wall between barbarity and civilization. They have the furthest reach of any House because of it, which is both good and bad for you.
[ ] House Nellens
The thinnest blood and the least Dragons, but the Nellens have a strong grip on the Realm's bureaucracy that's required for the great beast to function, and such a diversity of business interests that they could be a terror on par with Ragara if they had the opportunity. Looked down upon by other Houses with regularity, but in possession of enough money and power that they can handle the attention. They'll probably give you a free hand as long as you bring in the money.
[ ] House Tepet
The third of the great martial houses, Tepet are the unparalleled masters of intelligent warfare and counterinsurgency. When you absolutely positively need a rebellion stamped out with a minimum of collateral damage, call Tepet. You hate to miss out on the great Northern campaign they're gearing up for, but orders are orders.
[ ] House V'Neef
The newest House on the block and the masters of the Imperial Merchant Marine forces. V'Neef herself was elevated to being a Matriarch not long ago (in the time scale of Great Houses) and currently seems to be the Scarlet Empress' favorite, which means that everyone hates her House even more than Mnemon's, if that were possible.
[ ] House Iselsi
A disgraced House, they can't actually afford to be throwing you out over something so trivial as dueling or fomenting revolution. Your exile was a cover for a greater work - maybe you'll be needed to keep an eye on the Realm's enemies from your distant perch, or find something vital to its (or to Iselsi's) survival, or safeguard something terrible that cannot be allowed near the Realm. Your House is criminally shy of resources, but you can count on their full support from the word "go."
Hello, everyone! This is an attempt at an Exalted setting kingdom-builder, where you're a Dragon-Blood of the Scarlet Empire that's been thrown out and given an insignificant kingdom and told to make something of yourself. The decision to do this was inspired in no small part by BoneyM's Divided Loyalties, so while it is going to use the CK2 mechanics as you build your mudhole into a shining bastion of civilization, your advisors may well have their own agendas and side projects. Generally the more competent and powerful they are, the more of their own interests they're going to have. CK2 mechanics, for the uninitiated, use stats of Diplomacy, Martial, Stewardship, Intrigue, Learning and Piety, and use a d100 roll + stat + modifiers +/- circumstances vs a static difficulty (or an opponent's roll of the same for contested rolls). You're an elemental demigod, if a young one, so there are going to be a LOT of modifiers.
As veterans of the Exalted setting might be able to tell from the above descriptions, this begins many years before Year Zero described in the game books. The world is still filled with peril and magical threats, but it's a lot less on fire as of your first Turn so you have some room to grow and come into your own. All events that happen after the beginning are going to be broadly non-canonical and often determined by dice rolls, so it may come to pass that the Realm of your character's birth does not merrily light itself on fire and splinter after the disappearance of its immortal sovereign. But since that would involve me giving up an absolutely choice midgame crisis, that's probably still going to happen - just maybe not when, where and how it's supposed to.
The next update will get into the finer details of character creation and there aren't going to be a ton of restrictions based on your choices in this first one, so if you're worried that being a Mnemon who got kicked out for being too Pious will bar you from being a Sorcerer as well, fret not. Great Houses are gigantic clans that contain multitudes, as well, so even if the stereotype of a Cathak is a big fiery commander of legions, a bookish Cathak scholar might get along less-well with their relatives but people are varied as people are no matter whether they're Dragon-Bloods or not. House choice is about the social and material expectations that will be levied upon you from back home, rather than a straightjacket.
So, SV, let's get Reassigned to Antarctica!
