[Exalted] The Dragon's Spite

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Okay jokes and memes aside, I really like it because of the storytelling potential. I want to see this character cause problems for herself, for her to grow as a person. Or, god forbid, make things worse for everyone.

I kind of have a massive thing for protagonists that are just walking fuckups. Less functional human beings and more a walking collection of character flaws in the vague shape of a person. That and, given that this is Exalted, there's not much gonna be in the way of our MC achieving her goals.

Except for, of course...herself.
 
And now that I've done my memes, more seriously I'm actually really interested to see how a beastfolk is actually run Exalted in the sense of what sort of response they get from people around them. And I want to see how ES handles the sort of Frog in a Well set up I've basically handed to him.

A Far Threshold House being enemies with a Great House is after all a bit ridiculous, and I want to see what he does with a person who is messed up enough to actually wholeheartedly believe that. Plus A Totally Not Evil Sorceress railing against an enemy that may not even acknowledge her is a nice staple.
 
[X] Ananke Wyldflame, the Sculptor of Madness
[X] You were once imperfect, so you changed that. Even after it all, they couldn't take it from you. Your delightfully sculpted features, the blue tinge of your skin, the rubies of your eyes, the little adorment, grooves and ridges in the skin and nails of copper, hair as black as the night, and when you call upon the fire of your Aspect, its flames are a searing azure. But without your expensive fabrics, your jewels and jade bracelets and steelsilks, you are like a diamond without a ring. You itch to once again wear dresses befitting of your station. Your shadow, that annoying thing, keeps mocking you by putting on languid airs. Maybe you shouldn't have given it a will of its own; it is entirely too sarcastic.

[X] Fire - Chosen of Hesiesh, passionate and brilliant, you light the way as a candle and destroy as an inferno. Fire-aligned fighting styles tend to focus on speed and agility; Fire techniques often make use of intensity, action, and spontaneity.

[X] The Decadent Arcanist (Write-in Variant):
-[X] The Hungry Aristocrat. You were a woman of wealth and taste, and you had perfectly good standing and repute. The reckless allegations linking you to the "nightwraiths" that stole into people's homes, stealing their dreams to spin weaves, collecting their souls into your jewels of necklace, were unfounded prejudice; just because you'd disappeared for twenty years and come back with an anima of a different color and chests full of foreign treasures, you were accused of pacts with otherworldly entities! And just because your political opponents all fell sick and wasted away in their beds, people accused you of plotting to take over the country! The gall! Do they know how much effort it takes to sustain a loyal court of- never mind. You made a perfectly well-intentioned overture in inviting several peopleto dwell in your manor and see that you were a most upright faithful of the dragons, and sadly they proved too perceptive. And too resilient to night-time visits and mesmerizing songs. Tragic, really. At least you hadn't gone through with that plan to put your heart in an egg yet, you're not sure you'd have had the time to retrieve it while running away.

[X] Wyldworker - Outside the world lies the chaos of the Wyld. Through this chaos, the world can be changed into something that is not what is was. You take the raw potential of the chaos-tide, and drip it onto staid Creation, swearing oaths with the self-absorbed soul-eating things that dwell outside sanity.

This I really like. Don't get me wrong, an alcoholic necromancer sounds fun, but this sounds even moreso.
 
[x] What is my name? What is my name!? I am Ferem Odat Rena! Of course you've heard of me, I'm a scion of a Great House, the Pine Barren Princess, she who stood against the Cherak Survival Council and--wait. You don't know what a Cherak is. Or a me. Pfah! You will learn. Then you'll be feeding me grapes and singing my praises.
[x] I am a beautiful woman, looking no more than twenty eight winters. If you know what's good for you, you'll say I look even younger. My skin is pale and spotless as befits Cherakian nobility - I keep it such with my broad-rimmed hat and flowing robes that cover my skin. Curtains of inky black hair hang down to my shoulderblades. I paint my lips green like bileberries and my eyes glitter like ripe cherries. And that's not just the glitterwine talking.
[x] Wood - Chosen of Sextes Jylis, sensual and nurturing, you are the surge of life of a new year and death by poison alike. Wood-aligned fighting styles tend to weaken and drag down; Wood techniques often make use of harmonisation, collective action, and or self-knowledge.
[x] The Decadent Arcanist - Once you were among the mighty of your homeland; wealthy beyond measure, living off your ancient estate in a haze of pleasure and indulgence. Then came the plague, and the Dead rose, and everyone was very unfairly blaming you for things you were hardly involved in at all. It's not like you summoned all the malicious spirits and you only despoiled one - maybe two - ancient ruins that the books warned you about! Well, you made yourself scarce, unfortunately leaving nearly everything of value, and headed south. There are ancient secrets and modern pleasures to claim.
[x] Necromancer - Below the world are the lands of the Dead, where go those unquiet spirits who have reason to linger. Through ritual and blood, you call upon departed souls, knowing the names of dead princes and signing contracts with the great powers among the Dead.
 
I'm not really coming up with anything on my own, so...

[X] Aleph

Elementalists are basically unused in most of the Exalted stuff I've seen.
kellanved said:
I don't know if exalted allows legions of the dead, but I want my legions of the dead. Poor Tyrant Necromancer got dragged down by treachery, tsk tsk. Next time there will be no more of this "free will" allowed.
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It does. In fact, being in the area of the Fire Mountains means we might run into some of the minions of Exalted's foremost Legion of the Dead-style practitioner, that being the First and Forsaken Lion.
 
kellanved said:
[x] Wood - Chosen of Sextes Jylis, sensual and nurturing, you are the surge of life of a new year and death by poison alike. Wood-aligned fighting styles tend to weaken and drag down; Wood techniques often make use of harmonisation, collective action, and or self-knowledge.
[x] The Fallen Warlord - You seized a kingdom for yourself, with fire and fury and terrible magics. You ruled with a jade-gauntleted fist. The spirits were your slaves. And then you lost it all to treasonous advisors and jealous rivals and annoying whining priests. Well, you won yourself wealth and fortune once before. You can do it again. The Fire Mountains are a ripe fruit ready for you to pluck.
[x] Necromancer - Below the world are the lands of the Dead, where go those unquiet spirits who have reason to linger. Through ritual and blood, you call upon departed souls, knowing the names of dead princes and signing contracts with the great powers among the Dead.

I don't know if exalted allows legions of the dead, but I want my legions of the dead. Poor Tyrant Necromancer got dragged down by treachery, tsk tsk. Next time there will be no more of this "free will" allowed.
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It's possible... just not really for us. Exalted undead broadly come in four categories:
  1. Short-term creations, that last for a scene or two then either dissipate (for ghosts) or lose animation.
  2. Long-term creations, that require regular maintenance and upkeep, and in some cases need rare and/or exotic components to function.
  3. Intelligent undead, that have their own goals and agendas and either need to be bound or bought into servitude.
  4. 'Wild' undead, that form naturally but lack intelligence and need to be bound.
Option 1 doesn't work for gathering an army as undead that only last a couple of hours aren't that much use for anything except on-the-spot troops, option 2 requires a large support network of surgeons and necromancers to keep any army-scale force operating, and trying options 3 or 4 on an army scale is a good way to get murdered by something bigger and nastier than us.
 
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[x] What is my name? What is my name!? I am Ferem Odat Rena! Of course you've heard of me, I'm a scion of a Great House, the Pine Barren Princess, she who stood against the Cherak Survival Council and--wait. You don't know what a Cherak is. Or a me. Pfah! You will learn. Then you'll be feeding me grapes and singing my praises.
[x] I am a beautiful woman, looking no more than twenty eight winters. If you know what's good for you, you'll say I look even younger. My skin is pale and spotless as befits Cheraki nobility - I keep it such with my broad-rimmed hat and flowing robes that cover my skin. Curtains of inky black hair hang down to my shoulderblades. I paint my lips green like bileberries and my eyes glitter like ripe cherries. And that's not just the glitterwine talking.
[x] Wood - Chosen of Sextes Jylis, sensual and nurturing, you are the surge of life of a new year and death by poison alike. Wood-aligned fighting styles tend to weaken and drag down; Wood techniques often make use of harmonisation, collective action, and or self-knowledge.
[x] The Decadent Arcanist - Once you were among the mighty of your homeland; wealthy beyond measure, living off your ancient estate in a haze of pleasure and indulgence. Then came the plague, and the Dead rose, and everyone was very unfairly blaming you for things you were hardly involved in at all. It's not like you summoned all the malicious spirits and you only despoiled one - maybe two - ancient ruins that the books warned you about! Well, you made yourself scarce, unfortunately leaving nearly everything of value, and headed south. There are ancient secrets and modern pleasures to claim.
[x] Necromancer - Below the world are the lands of the Dead, where go those unquiet spirits who have reason to linger. Through ritual and blood, you call upon departed souls, knowing the names of dead princes and signing contracts with the great powers among the Dead.
 
[X] Ananke Wyldflame, the Sculptor of Madness
[X] You were once imperfect, so you changed that. Even after it all, they couldn't take it from you. Your delightfully sculpted features, the blue tinge of your skin, the rubies of your eyes, the little adorment, grooves and ridges in the skin and nails of copper, hair as black as the night, and when you call upon the fire of your Aspect, its flames are a searing azure. But without your expensive fabrics, your jewels and jade bracelets and steelsilks, you are like a diamond without a ring. You itch to once again wear dresses befitting of your station. Your shadow, that annoying thing, keeps mocking you by putting on languid airs. Maybe you shouldn't have given it a will of its own; it is entirely too sarcastic.

[X] Fire - Chosen of Hesiesh, passionate and brilliant, you light the way as a candle and destroy as an inferno. Fire-aligned fighting styles tend to focus on speed and agility; Fire techniques often make use of intensity, action, and spontaneity.

[X] The Decadent Arcanist (Write-in Variant):
-[X] The Hungry Aristocrat. You were a woman of wealth and taste, and you had perfectly good standing and repute. The reckless allegations linking you to the "nightwraiths" that stole into people's homes, stealing their dreams to spin weaves, collecting their souls into your jewels of necklace, were unfounded prejudice; just because you'd disappeared for twenty years and come back with an anima of a different color and chests full of foreign treasures, you were accused of pacts with otherworldly entities! And just because your political opponents all fell sick and wasted away in their beds, people accused you of plotting to take over the country! The gall! Do they know how much effort it takes to sustain a loyal court of- never mind. You made a perfectly well-intentioned overture in inviting several peopleto dwell in your manor and see that you were a most upright faithful of the dragons, and sadly they proved too perceptive. And too resilient to night-time visits and mesmerizing songs. Tragic, really. At least you hadn't gone through with that plan to put your heart in an egg yet, you're not sure you'd have had the time to retrieve it while running away.

[X] Wyldworker - Outside the world lies the chaos of the Wyld. Through this chaos, the world can be changed into something that is not what is was. You take the raw potential of the chaos-tide, and drip it onto staid Creation, swearing oaths with the self-absorbed soul-eating things that dwell outside sanity.
 
Hmmmmmmm....


Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

The Necromancy. It calls to me.
 
[x] What is my name? What is my name!? I am Ferem Odat Rena! Of course you've heard of me, I'm a scion of a Great House, the Pine Barren Princess, she who stood against the Cherak Survival Council and--wait. You don't know what a Cherak is. Or a me. Pfah! You will learn. Then you'll be feeding me grapes and singing my praises.
[x] I am a beautiful woman, looking no more than twenty eight winters. If you know what's good for you, you'll say I look even younger. My skin is pale and spotless as befits Cheraki nobility - I keep it such with my broad-rimmed hat and flowing robes that cover my skin. Curtains of inky black hair hang down to my shoulderblades. I paint my lips green like bileberries and my eyes glitter like ripe cherries. And that's not just the glitterwine talking.
[x] Wood - Chosen of Sextes Jylis, sensual and nurturing, you are the surge of life of a new year and death by poison alike. Wood-aligned fighting styles tend to weaken and drag down; Wood techniques often make use of harmonisation, collective action, and or self-knowledge.
[x] The Decadent Arcanist - Once you were among the mighty of your homeland; wealthy beyond measure, living off your ancient estate in a haze of pleasure and indulgence. Then came the plague, and the Dead rose, and everyone was very unfairly blaming you for things you were hardly involved in at all. It's not like you summoned all the malicious spirits and you only despoiled one - maybe two - ancient ruins that the books warned you about! Well, you made yourself scarce, unfortunately leaving nearly everything of value, and headed south. There are ancient secrets and modern pleasures to claim.
[x] Necromancer - Below the world are the lands of the Dead, where go those unquiet spirits who have reason to linger. Through ritual and blood, you call upon departed souls, knowing the names of dead princes and signing contracts with the great powers among the Dead.
 
[x] What is my name? What is my name!? I am Ferem Odat Rena! Of course you've heard of me, I'm a scion of a Great House, the Pine Barren Princess, she who stood against the Cherak Survival Council and--wait. You don't know what a Cherak is. Or a me. Pfah! You will learn. Then you'll be feeding me grapes and singing my praises.
[x] I am a beautiful woman, looking no more than twenty eight winters. If you know what's good for you, you'll say I look even younger. My skin is pale and spotless as befits Cherakian nobility - I keep it such with my broad-rimmed hat and flowing robes that cover my skin. Curtains of inky black hair hang down to my shoulderblades. I paint my lips green like bileberries and my eyes glitter like ripe cherries. And that's not just the glitterwine talking.
[x] Wood - Chosen of Sextes Jylis, sensual and nurturing, you are the surge of life of a new year and death by poison alike. Wood-aligned fighting styles tend to weaken and drag down; Wood techniques often make use of harmonisation, collective action, and or self-knowledge.
[x] The Decadent Arcanist - Once you were among the mighty of your homeland; wealthy beyond measure, living off your ancient estate in a haze of pleasure and indulgence. Then came the plague, and the Dead rose, and everyone was very unfairly blaming you for things you were hardly involved in at all. It's not like you summoned all the malicious spirits and you only despoiled one - maybe two - ancient ruins that the books warned you about! Well, you made yourself scarce, unfortunately leaving nearly everything of value, and headed south. There are ancient secrets and modern pleasures to claim.
[x] Necromancer - Below the world are the lands of the Dead, where go those unquiet spirits who have reason to linger. Through ritual and blood, you call upon departed souls, knowing the names of dead princes and signing contracts with the great powers among the Dead.
 
If we do end up going the necromancy route, I demand we surround our base with ominous undead crows.

That explode.
 
NSMS said:
It's possible... just not really for us. Exalted undead broadly come in four categories:
  1. Short-term creations, that last for a scene or two then either dissipate (for ghosts) or lose animation.
  2. Long-term creations, that require regular maintenance and upkeep, and in some cases need rare and/or exotic components to function.
  3. Intelligent undead, that have their own goals and agendas and either need to be bound or bought into servitude.
  4. 'Wild' undead, that form naturally but lack intelligence and need to be bound.
Option 1 doesn't work for gathering an army as undead that only last a couple of hours aren't that much use for anything except on-the-spot troops, option 2 requires a large support network of surgeons and necromancers to keep any army-scale force operating, and trying options 3 or 4 on an army scale is a good way to get murdered by something bigger and nastier than us.
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Au contrair - what you consider the limitation of option 3 is in fact a common limitation to all the options.

You're a Dragonblood. You can't bind Second Circles or Greater Dead or things like that. And that means all the options require a willingness to make deals with powerful beings with their own agenda, or to slowly build up your forces of lesser things.
 
EarthScorpion said:
Au contrair - what you consider the limitation of option 3 is in fact a common limitation to all the options.

You're a Dragonblood. You can't bind Second Circles or Greater Dead or things like that. And that means all the options require a willingness to make deals with powerful beings with their own agenda, or to slowly build up your forces of lesser things.
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Which means more opportunities for disaster, which is perfect!
 
EarthScorpion said:
Au contrair - what you consider the limitation of option 3 is in fact a common limitation to all the options.

You're a Dragonblood. You can't bind Second Circles or Greater Dead or things like that. And that means all the options require a willingness to make deals with powerful beings with their own agenda, or to slowly build up your forces of lesser things.
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Exactly! We can have meat wagons! Plantations staffed by mindless zombies! And we can owe debts to things that slither in rivers of rot, have romances with spirits of ages past, and eke out deals with sickly pewter skies that weep deluges of blood, and speak in booms of pained thunder.

Just because we're a Terrestrial Exalt doesn't mean we're weak. Just because we might like drink doesn't make us incapable.

It just means we have more fun along the way.

HORROR-COMEDY SORCERESS, HOOOOOOOOO
 
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EarthScorpion said:
Au contrair - what you consider the limitation of option 3 is in fact a common limitation to all the options.

You're a Dragonblood. You can't bind Second Circles or Greater Dead or things like that. And that means all the options require a willingness to make deals with powerful beings with their own agenda, or to slowly build up your forces of lesser things.
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Well, yeah. I was just explaining why 'undead legion' specifically wasn't really a realistic option for us, not trying to argue that as a point against taking necromancy as a whole. Necrotech is fun.
 
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[x] What is my name? What is my name!? I am Ferem Odat Rena! Of course you've heard of me, I'm a scion of a Great House, the Pine Barren Princess, she who stood against the Cherak Survival Council and--wait. You don't know what a Cherak is. Or a me. Pfah! You will learn. Then you'll be feeding me grapes and singing my praises.
[x] I am a beautiful woman, looking no more than twenty eight winters. If you know what's good for you, you'll say I look even younger. My skin is pale and spotless as befits Cheraki nobility - I keep it such with my broad-rimmed hat and flowing robes that cover my skin. Curtains of inky black hair hang down to my shoulderblades. I paint my lips green like bileberries and my eyes glitter like ripe cherries. And that's not just the glitterwine talking.
[x] Wood - Chosen of Sextes Jylis, sensual and nurturing, you are the surge of life of a new year and death by poison alike. Wood-aligned fighting styles tend to weaken and drag down; Wood techniques often make use of harmonisation, collective action, and or self-knowledge.
[x] The Decadent Arcanist - Once you were among the mighty of your homeland; wealthy beyond measure, living off your ancient estate in a haze of pleasure and indulgence. Then came the plague, and the Dead rose, and everyone was very unfairly blaming you for things you were hardly involved in at all. It's not like you summoned all the malicious spirits and you only despoiled one - maybe two - ancient ruins that the books warned you about! Well, you made yourself scarce, unfortunately leaving nearly everything of value, and headed south. There are ancient secrets and modern pleasures to claim.
[x] Necromancer - Below the world are the lands of the Dead, where go those unquiet spirits who have reason to linger. Through ritual and blood, you call upon departed souls, knowing the names of dead princes and signing contracts with the great powers among the Dead.
 
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