This quest is going to broadly use the Exalted 3rd edition setting and rules, though I have...
Frozen, Furious Heavens
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This quest is going to broadly use the Exalted 3rd edition setting and rules, though I have incorporated some elements from the 2nd edition setting. It is set in the far north and has a defined protagonist who begins in her late twenties. She has however just undergone utterly life changing experiences and can develop in any number of directions.
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Ages ago, the world was ruled by the Chosen of the Sun, glorious lawbringers who cast down the enemies of the gods then brought Creation to a literal golden age with prosperity and glory unheard of and unimaginable.
Then, after millenia of just rulership, their jealous underlings rose against them and the ensuring decade of treachery and slaughter broke that golden age. The Solar's favoured people were hunted down and massacred, civilisation was destroyed, centuries of petty feuding between rapacious elemental warlords of the Dragon Blooded ground down what remained until finally the Great Contagion swept across Creation to bring an end to the First Age.
As nine tenths of everything that lived died, as reality itself wavered, the hordes of the Raksha, the fae, boiled in from the formless chaos of the Wyld, harvesting the souls of everything in their path and leaving distorted chaos in their wake. The remnants of the Dragon Blooded Shogunate died fighting as the gleamingly terrible hordes breached to the coasts of the inner sea.
It was over seven hundred years ago that the self proclaimed Scarlet Empress halted the invasion, but that took place far, far to the south upon the Blessed Isle.
The City of Sezakan was a glorious metropolis of the high First age and capital of the People of the Air. Never conquered by the Shogunate after the fall of the Solar Deliberative due to it's utter inaccessibility as well as the presence of dozens of loyalist Dragon Blooded, Sezakan withdrew into complete isolation and dwindled over the centuries. As the borders of Creation have been eaten away, so to has the city found itself ever closer to the edge of the Wyld, with the bordermarches of reality now only tens of miles from the city.
When the full moon rises or storms blow in from the Deep Wyld, the ancient sorcery of Sezakan's manse falters, the geomantically aligned pyramid of blue ice that keeps the metropolis warm and sheltered from the wastes struggling to hold back the corrupting and changing influence of the Wyld. The dwindling populace flee or hide within their towering homes, huddling with weapons in hand as they dread the coming of the Raksha. Where once half a million called the city home, there are now only a scant seven thousand.
Secretive trade, scavenging of ancient settlements, ruins and tombs is all that keeps Sezakan's ancient geomancy and wards even barely sustained whilst growing food becomes harder each year as the weather defying sorcery weakens, but the winged inhabitants of the city often find deposits of unmelting ice or near weightless feathersteel in the ever changing landscape of the edge of reality. Rich trade goods.
The Solar Council ruling the city is mostly populated god blooded or dragon blooded, those blessed by their heritage with divine might and the ability to wield essence, but the vast majority of the city inhabitants are mortal. Mortal, but more than human, winged People of the Air with superior vision, the freedom of flight and two century lifespans they very, very rarely survive to complete. They await the prophesied return of a Solar, one who will rule them and return the People of the Air to glory. Until recently they included Final Iron Skies.
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Final Iron Skies was born to one of the ruling clans of the city, an extended family with numerous skilled sages and a touch of the blood of the elemental dragons in their veins. Her own great grandmother is an Azure Dragon, touched by the power of Mela and a century old member of Sezakan's ruling council.
Whilst her grey wings ensured she would never become one of the white winged priesthood, through her childhood she hoped for her Second Breath and exaltation as one of the Chosen of the elemental dragons, a faint but real hope that was never realized. Withdrawn and quiet, she mostly aspired to help people and become a physician or healer but her lack of outstanding talent in that area was far overtaken by her capacity for violence.
She was fast, unhesitating, merciless yet composed and devastatingly quick to learn. Never socially adept she would instead dedicate endless hours to practise whilst taking pain and hardship unblinkingly in stride. By the time she reached her teens she was already once of the most lethally capable mortals anyone could recall and seemed poised to become one of the premier warriors of the city.
Then she met her husband to be, Filial Wind was absolutely not from a well regarded clan, a wandering scavenger and roaming trader who was nearly ten years her elder and quite an unsuitable match. The sheltered, awkward young Final Iron Skies fell in love and married him against the wishes of her family.
Then she joined him in his adventures and they spent years travelling the deep North at the edges of the Wyld. Exploring, venturing into forgotten and inaccessible tombs, trading with isolated human settlements who often thought they might be spirits or creates of the Wyld. It was not an idyllic existence but it was largely a happy one.
Then they found a prize, a huge archive of records from the High First Age buried beneath a rockslide in a broken mountaintop citadel, unlooted since the collapse of the Solar Deliberative. It painted the ancient glory of the Lawgivers in... A different light.
Atrocities, madness, unspeakable horrors inflicted upon mortals and lesser Exalted alike by millennia old god queens grown distant and broken. A secret mustering, a desperate rebellion to strike down glorious tyrants before they could destroy Creation itself.
Needless to say that elders of Sezakan were not impressed when these findings were shared and both were imprisoned. Under intense pressure from the city elders and her family, under threat of execution and disgrace, Final Iron Skies found herself confessing that her husband was entirely at fault. He had pressured her into agreeing with his findings, he knew that the archives were false. It was all his fault and she had been lead astray.
Her forced confession shattered when confronted with the reality of watching Filial Wind's execution and hearing his screams as the hammer was brought to shatter his wings, realizing he was going to be cast down the cliff after being denied flight. She snapped.
She had a spear in hand and two guards unconscious an the air beneath her wings before anyone could react. Swords were drawn, darts were cast, she met twenty warriors in the skies knowing that she was going to die and watching her husband fall as she struck.
Blood, pain, fury, death. Light, power, the massacre was cast into sharp relief, everything in shadow or bleached white as knife edged shadows radiated from the slaughter she perpetrated upon her former friends and peers. Bloodied but barely hurt she looked down upon the dozens of dead strewn beneath her and the awe and terror with which she was being regarded
She had taken her Second Breath, she was Exalted, she had been chosen by the Unconquered Sun and was the prophesied saviour of her city. The sunburst of the Swords of Heaven blazed upon her brow.
She fled not knowing if she was going to be met by the assembled might of the Exalted in the council or if she was going to be presented with a golden crown and expected to rule. Both terrified and sickened her.
Now, a day later, Final Iron Skies continues to fly south. She has not slept and not rested, but she feels herself burning with a terrible vitality and even if the eye searing glow from earlier has faded, she knows she has transcended mortality and that her power is still rapidly surging.
But what does she do? Returning to Sezakan is simply not an option but she knows she will be an outsider wherever she travels. Humans fear the People of the Air or, captivated, often seek to enslave them, though she doubts she has to fear that fate any more. Far, far to the south, the Realm of the Dragon Blooded, the greatest empire in Creation, listens for rumours of the Sun's chosen before despatching monks of it's Immaculate Order to slay or capture them, but they are of little concern right now.
Final Iron Skies has not done anything as mundane as ascending to godhood, she is a Dawn Caste and she has some inkling of what this might mean. If she survives and prospers she can expect to be one of the most singularly dangerous individuals in Creation who treats as peers only with her own vanishingly rare kind or the most potent of deities. She is also reviled as the return of an ancient tyrant by the most widespread religion and the mightiest several civilisations and from what she has read, she is not sure if they are wrong.
What does she do now?
[] Fly east to the city of Ascension, much like Sezakan this city resists the endless winter through ancient Solar magic that also maintains the thickness of the air at it's great altitude. Ascension itself mines the heights for ores and precious metals whilst lower down is Footstep, a haven for miners, explorers, gamblers and thieves. Final Iron Skies has visited before and it is the nearest major settlement. Perhaps she can find employment or answers there?
(Gain a Defining Principle: I must survive and prosper)
[] Soar South West, to the pack ice at the edge of the great Western Ocean then perhaps beyond. Final Iron Skies always wanted to witness the sea. If nothing else she can now explore more of Creation.
(Gain a Defining Principle: I wish to experience the breadth of Creation)
[] Speed North West and into the bordermarchs of the Wyld. The reality twisting and warping nature of the Wyld cannot touch Final Iron Skies through her Exalted nature, her own essence turning it aside. Now? Now if nothing else she can strike at the Raksha and bring them low, revenge for all those they have taken. Preeningly arrogant and utterly cruel fae cataphracts will die beneath the steel of her speartip.
(Gain a Defining Tie: Raksha: seething hatred)
[] Find a local settlement to rest and recuperate. Final Iron Skies does not have anything to trade but she is a skilled physician and with her new abilities can no doubt greatly aid them even if her propensity is toward violence. She has inhuman endurance but she still needs to eat, drink, sleep and rest, not to mention heal. On the other hand her husband always used to be the one to negotiate when they met with local tribes and she is likely to be viewed with suspicion.
(Gain a Defining Principle: I must use my power for the betterment of all)
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Ages ago, the world was ruled by the Chosen of the Sun, glorious lawbringers who cast down the enemies of the gods then brought Creation to a literal golden age with prosperity and glory unheard of and unimaginable.
Then, after millenia of just rulership, their jealous underlings rose against them and the ensuring decade of treachery and slaughter broke that golden age. The Solar's favoured people were hunted down and massacred, civilisation was destroyed, centuries of petty feuding between rapacious elemental warlords of the Dragon Blooded ground down what remained until finally the Great Contagion swept across Creation to bring an end to the First Age.
As nine tenths of everything that lived died, as reality itself wavered, the hordes of the Raksha, the fae, boiled in from the formless chaos of the Wyld, harvesting the souls of everything in their path and leaving distorted chaos in their wake. The remnants of the Dragon Blooded Shogunate died fighting as the gleamingly terrible hordes breached to the coasts of the inner sea.
It was over seven hundred years ago that the self proclaimed Scarlet Empress halted the invasion, but that took place far, far to the south upon the Blessed Isle.
The City of Sezakan was a glorious metropolis of the high First age and capital of the People of the Air. Never conquered by the Shogunate after the fall of the Solar Deliberative due to it's utter inaccessibility as well as the presence of dozens of loyalist Dragon Blooded, Sezakan withdrew into complete isolation and dwindled over the centuries. As the borders of Creation have been eaten away, so to has the city found itself ever closer to the edge of the Wyld, with the bordermarches of reality now only tens of miles from the city.
When the full moon rises or storms blow in from the Deep Wyld, the ancient sorcery of Sezakan's manse falters, the geomantically aligned pyramid of blue ice that keeps the metropolis warm and sheltered from the wastes struggling to hold back the corrupting and changing influence of the Wyld. The dwindling populace flee or hide within their towering homes, huddling with weapons in hand as they dread the coming of the Raksha. Where once half a million called the city home, there are now only a scant seven thousand.
Secretive trade, scavenging of ancient settlements, ruins and tombs is all that keeps Sezakan's ancient geomancy and wards even barely sustained whilst growing food becomes harder each year as the weather defying sorcery weakens, but the winged inhabitants of the city often find deposits of unmelting ice or near weightless feathersteel in the ever changing landscape of the edge of reality. Rich trade goods.
The Solar Council ruling the city is mostly populated god blooded or dragon blooded, those blessed by their heritage with divine might and the ability to wield essence, but the vast majority of the city inhabitants are mortal. Mortal, but more than human, winged People of the Air with superior vision, the freedom of flight and two century lifespans they very, very rarely survive to complete. They await the prophesied return of a Solar, one who will rule them and return the People of the Air to glory. Until recently they included Final Iron Skies.
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Final Iron Skies was born to one of the ruling clans of the city, an extended family with numerous skilled sages and a touch of the blood of the elemental dragons in their veins. Her own great grandmother is an Azure Dragon, touched by the power of Mela and a century old member of Sezakan's ruling council.
Whilst her grey wings ensured she would never become one of the white winged priesthood, through her childhood she hoped for her Second Breath and exaltation as one of the Chosen of the elemental dragons, a faint but real hope that was never realized. Withdrawn and quiet, she mostly aspired to help people and become a physician or healer but her lack of outstanding talent in that area was far overtaken by her capacity for violence.
She was fast, unhesitating, merciless yet composed and devastatingly quick to learn. Never socially adept she would instead dedicate endless hours to practise whilst taking pain and hardship unblinkingly in stride. By the time she reached her teens she was already once of the most lethally capable mortals anyone could recall and seemed poised to become one of the premier warriors of the city.
Then she met her husband to be, Filial Wind was absolutely not from a well regarded clan, a wandering scavenger and roaming trader who was nearly ten years her elder and quite an unsuitable match. The sheltered, awkward young Final Iron Skies fell in love and married him against the wishes of her family.
Then she joined him in his adventures and they spent years travelling the deep North at the edges of the Wyld. Exploring, venturing into forgotten and inaccessible tombs, trading with isolated human settlements who often thought they might be spirits or creates of the Wyld. It was not an idyllic existence but it was largely a happy one.
Then they found a prize, a huge archive of records from the High First Age buried beneath a rockslide in a broken mountaintop citadel, unlooted since the collapse of the Solar Deliberative. It painted the ancient glory of the Lawgivers in... A different light.
Atrocities, madness, unspeakable horrors inflicted upon mortals and lesser Exalted alike by millennia old god queens grown distant and broken. A secret mustering, a desperate rebellion to strike down glorious tyrants before they could destroy Creation itself.
Needless to say that elders of Sezakan were not impressed when these findings were shared and both were imprisoned. Under intense pressure from the city elders and her family, under threat of execution and disgrace, Final Iron Skies found herself confessing that her husband was entirely at fault. He had pressured her into agreeing with his findings, he knew that the archives were false. It was all his fault and she had been lead astray.
Her forced confession shattered when confronted with the reality of watching Filial Wind's execution and hearing his screams as the hammer was brought to shatter his wings, realizing he was going to be cast down the cliff after being denied flight. She snapped.
She had a spear in hand and two guards unconscious an the air beneath her wings before anyone could react. Swords were drawn, darts were cast, she met twenty warriors in the skies knowing that she was going to die and watching her husband fall as she struck.
Blood, pain, fury, death. Light, power, the massacre was cast into sharp relief, everything in shadow or bleached white as knife edged shadows radiated from the slaughter she perpetrated upon her former friends and peers. Bloodied but barely hurt she looked down upon the dozens of dead strewn beneath her and the awe and terror with which she was being regarded
She had taken her Second Breath, she was Exalted, she had been chosen by the Unconquered Sun and was the prophesied saviour of her city. The sunburst of the Swords of Heaven blazed upon her brow.
She fled not knowing if she was going to be met by the assembled might of the Exalted in the council or if she was going to be presented with a golden crown and expected to rule. Both terrified and sickened her.
Now, a day later, Final Iron Skies continues to fly south. She has not slept and not rested, but she feels herself burning with a terrible vitality and even if the eye searing glow from earlier has faded, she knows she has transcended mortality and that her power is still rapidly surging.
But what does she do? Returning to Sezakan is simply not an option but she knows she will be an outsider wherever she travels. Humans fear the People of the Air or, captivated, often seek to enslave them, though she doubts she has to fear that fate any more. Far, far to the south, the Realm of the Dragon Blooded, the greatest empire in Creation, listens for rumours of the Sun's chosen before despatching monks of it's Immaculate Order to slay or capture them, but they are of little concern right now.
Final Iron Skies has not done anything as mundane as ascending to godhood, she is a Dawn Caste and she has some inkling of what this might mean. If she survives and prospers she can expect to be one of the most singularly dangerous individuals in Creation who treats as peers only with her own vanishingly rare kind or the most potent of deities. She is also reviled as the return of an ancient tyrant by the most widespread religion and the mightiest several civilisations and from what she has read, she is not sure if they are wrong.
What does she do now?
[] Fly east to the city of Ascension, much like Sezakan this city resists the endless winter through ancient Solar magic that also maintains the thickness of the air at it's great altitude. Ascension itself mines the heights for ores and precious metals whilst lower down is Footstep, a haven for miners, explorers, gamblers and thieves. Final Iron Skies has visited before and it is the nearest major settlement. Perhaps she can find employment or answers there?
(Gain a Defining Principle: I must survive and prosper)
[] Soar South West, to the pack ice at the edge of the great Western Ocean then perhaps beyond. Final Iron Skies always wanted to witness the sea. If nothing else she can now explore more of Creation.
(Gain a Defining Principle: I wish to experience the breadth of Creation)
[] Speed North West and into the bordermarchs of the Wyld. The reality twisting and warping nature of the Wyld cannot touch Final Iron Skies through her Exalted nature, her own essence turning it aside. Now? Now if nothing else she can strike at the Raksha and bring them low, revenge for all those they have taken. Preeningly arrogant and utterly cruel fae cataphracts will die beneath the steel of her speartip.
(Gain a Defining Tie: Raksha: seething hatred)
[] Find a local settlement to rest and recuperate. Final Iron Skies does not have anything to trade but she is a skilled physician and with her new abilities can no doubt greatly aid them even if her propensity is toward violence. She has inhuman endurance but she still needs to eat, drink, sleep and rest, not to mention heal. On the other hand her husband always used to be the one to negotiate when they met with local tribes and she is likely to be viewed with suspicion.
(Gain a Defining Principle: I must use my power for the betterment of all)
Final Iron Skies is the protagonist of the story, she is a 28 year old Person of the Air hailing from the hidden northern city of Sezakan and recently exalted as a Dawn caste Solar.
People of the Air were a race crafted through sorcery at the height of the First Age to colonise the far north of Creation, winged and capable of flight, with the eyes of eagles and lifespans of two centuries, they have been rendered nearly extinct through persecution and the collapse of Creation's border regions at the eclipse of the First Age.
Final Iron Skies is somewhere in the region of six feet tall, blonde, blue eyed and grey winged, appearing to be only twenty or so by normal human standards but with the mannerisms and body language of one far older. She is also immensely physically capable and it is screamingly obvious with every motion.
Charms are the main power of the Exalted, Final Iron Skies will receive another 5 over the course of the next few updates, before her progression slows to a more sedate rate.
People of the Air were a race crafted through sorcery at the height of the First Age to colonise the far north of Creation, winged and capable of flight, with the eyes of eagles and lifespans of two centuries, they have been rendered nearly extinct through persecution and the collapse of Creation's border regions at the eclipse of the First Age.
Final Iron Skies is somewhere in the region of six feet tall, blonde, blue eyed and grey winged, appearing to be only twenty or so by normal human standards but with the mannerisms and body language of one far older. She is also immensely physically capable and it is screamingly obvious with every motion.
These are on a scale of 1-5, 1 being poor or the lower end of average, 2 being normal, 3 being noteworthy, four truly exceptional and five the absolute pinnacle of aptitude.
Strength: ***
Dexterity: *****
Stamina ****
Charisma: **
Manipulation: *
Appearance: ****
Perception: **
Intelligence: ***
Wits: ****
Strength: ***
Dexterity: *****
Stamina ****
Charisma: **
Manipulation: *
Appearance: ****
Perception: **
Intelligence: ***
Wits: ****
Wings: ***** (Final Iron Skies can fly, this does not increase her movement speed but does allow enormous mobility and flexibility. Precise actions attempted in flight, including attacks, suffer a -3 penalty).
Enhanced Vision: *** (+2 dice for vision rolls, though Final Iron Skies has obviously inhuman eyes)
Language: Old Realm: * (Final Iron Skies is fluent and literate in the language of the First Age, also used by spirits and demons).
Ambidextrous: * (Final Iron Skies does not suffer any penalties for using items or weapons in her off hand).
Enhanced Vision: *** (+2 dice for vision rolls, though Final Iron Skies has obviously inhuman eyes)
Language: Old Realm: * (Final Iron Skies is fluent and literate in the language of the First Age, also used by spirits and demons).
Ambidextrous: * (Final Iron Skies does not suffer any penalties for using items or weapons in her off hand).
Spoiler with a titleAbilities are on a scale of 0-5, 1 being the level of a dabbler or amateur, 2 a professional practitioner, 3 a skilled expert, 4 a master and 5 a legendary and renown expert, almost peerless. There are more abilities! (25 in total), but Final Iron Skies has the following skills.
Specialties effectively raise an ability by 1 point in a defined scope, those abilities in bold are Favoured or Caste and can be raised much more quickly.
Melee is her Supernal ability. She is able to purchase Charms (supernatural powers) in this ability without regard to normal limitations,
Athletics: *** (Specialty: Flight)
Awareness: ****
Brawl: ***
Dodge: **
Integrity: ***
Investigation: * (Specialty: Archaeology)
Lore: **
Medicine: ***
Melee: ***** (Specialty: Spears)
Occult: **
Resistance: *****
Survival: *** (Specialty: North)
Thrown: ***
Specialties effectively raise an ability by 1 point in a defined scope, those abilities in bold are Favoured or Caste and can be raised much more quickly.
Melee is her Supernal ability. She is able to purchase Charms (supernatural powers) in this ability without regard to normal limitations,
Athletics: *** (Specialty: Flight)
Awareness: ****
Brawl: ***
Dodge: **
Integrity: ***
Investigation: * (Specialty: Archaeology)
Lore: **
Medicine: ***
Melee: ***** (Specialty: Spears)
Occult: **
Resistance: *****
Survival: *** (Specialty: North)
Thrown: ***
Willpower: 5
Essence: 1
Personal Essence: 13
Peripheral Essence: 33
Parry DV: 6
Dodge DV: 4
Resolve: 4
Guile: 1
Rush: 8
Disengage: 7
Join Battle: 8
Natural Soak: 4
Health Levels:
-0 x1
-1 x4
-2 x6
-4 x1
Incap x1
Essence: 1
Personal Essence: 13
Peripheral Essence: 33
Parry DV: 6
Dodge DV: 4
Resolve: 4
Guile: 1
Rush: 8
Disengage: 7
Join Battle: 8
Natural Soak: 4
Health Levels:
-0 x1
-1 x4
-2 x6
-4 x1
Incap x1
Defining Principle: I wish to experience the breadth of Creation
Major Tie: Sezakan - Torn, confused betrayed and betraying home.
Major: Tie: Filial Wind - Dead, murdered husband.
Minor: Tie: Family - Loved but abandoned.
Minor: Principle - I want to fix people.
Major Tie: Sezakan - Torn, confused betrayed and betraying home.
Major: Tie: Filial Wind - Dead, murdered husband.
Minor: Tie: Family - Loved but abandoned.
Minor: Principle - I want to fix people.
Right now Final Iron Skies is wearing somewhat torn and blood soaked clothing fitted to her but of mediocre quality, albeit fur lined and suited to the climate of the far north.
She is armed with a Feathersteel Spear (tags: Lethal, Melee, Piercing, Reach). Made of near weightless feathersteel, this weapon is solid metal and much more durable than a conventional wooden spear whilst weighting almost nothing.
Accuracy: +2
Damage: +9
Defense: +1
Overwhelming: 1
She also has six throwing darts (tags: Lethal, Thrown (Medium), Concealable, Mounted,
Poisonable)
Accuracy: +4/+3/+2
Damage: +9
Overwhelming: 1
She also has a cold iron knife, which is a light weapon with the tags of Lethal, Melee and Thrown (short)
She is armed with a Feathersteel Spear (tags: Lethal, Melee, Piercing, Reach). Made of near weightless feathersteel, this weapon is solid metal and much more durable than a conventional wooden spear whilst weighting almost nothing.
Accuracy: +2
Damage: +9
Defense: +1
Overwhelming: 1
She also has six throwing darts (tags: Lethal, Thrown (Medium), Concealable, Mounted,
Poisonable)
Accuracy: +4/+3/+2
Damage: +9
Overwhelming: 1
She also has a cold iron knife, which is a light weapon with the tags of Lethal, Melee and Thrown (short)
Lightning Speed (Athletics): Spend 3 motes to enhance a Rush action, giving an automatic success then reroll all 5s and 6s until no more appear.
Sensory Acuity Prana (Awareness): Spend 5 motes, pick a sense, then for the rest of the scene 9s and well as 10s count as double successes for rolls using this sense.
Integrity Protecting Prana (Integrity): If subject to the warping power of the Wyld, Final Iron Skies can spend 5 motes and one willpower, by keeping the motes committed she and her equipment remain completely immune to environmental powers of the Wyld . This can also be activated automatically if she is asleep or unconscious.
Durability of Oak Meditation (Resistance): Two motes can be spend to reduce the raw damage from an attack by two, or add four hardness against a single decisive attack.
Spirit Strengthens The Skin (Resistance): After being hit, but before damage is rolled. Final Iron Skies can increase her soak by 1 per mote spent, up to four (her current natural soak)
Ox-Body Technique x2 (Resistance): This grants additional health levels and can be taken a number of times equal to Final Iron Skies' current Resistance. At her current stamina her two purchases grants two -1 and four -2 health levels.
Dipping Swallow Defense (Melee): For two motes, against a single attack, all penalties to defense can be ignored. Every successful parry using this charm grants a point of initiative.
Excellent Strike (Melee): If 3 motes are spend with an attack, add 1 success, also keep rerolling 1s on the attack roll until non remain.
One Weapon Two Blows (Melee): If her attack lowers an opponent's initiative below that of Final Iron Skies, she can spend 3 motes to immediately and without penalty carry out another attack.
Fire and Stones Strike (Melee): Whilst attacking, Final Iron Skies can spend up to her strength (3) motes, if she hits, each adds 1 point of -post- soak damage. On a Decisive attack she instead can spend up to Essence (1) motes to transfer successes from the attack roll to the damage roll.
Solar Counterattack (Melee): This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 3 motes as she attempts to parry an attack, striking before damage is rolled against her in an immediate Decisive attack of her own that does not count as her combat action. This will reduce her Initiative as with any other decisive attack.
Ready in Eight Directions Stance (Melee): This allows Final Iron Skies to use her combat action and spend 5 motes, then she can counter all incoming attacks as if she was using Solar Counterattack, for the rest of her turn. However her Initiative does not reset until the next round begins meaning she can potentially launch any number of Decisive counter-attacks if people are stupid enough to keep attacking her.
Sensory Acuity Prana (Awareness): Spend 5 motes, pick a sense, then for the rest of the scene 9s and well as 10s count as double successes for rolls using this sense.
Integrity Protecting Prana (Integrity): If subject to the warping power of the Wyld, Final Iron Skies can spend 5 motes and one willpower, by keeping the motes committed she and her equipment remain completely immune to environmental powers of the Wyld . This can also be activated automatically if she is asleep or unconscious.
Durability of Oak Meditation (Resistance): Two motes can be spend to reduce the raw damage from an attack by two, or add four hardness against a single decisive attack.
Spirit Strengthens The Skin (Resistance): After being hit, but before damage is rolled. Final Iron Skies can increase her soak by 1 per mote spent, up to four (her current natural soak)
Ox-Body Technique x2 (Resistance): This grants additional health levels and can be taken a number of times equal to Final Iron Skies' current Resistance. At her current stamina her two purchases grants two -1 and four -2 health levels.
Dipping Swallow Defense (Melee): For two motes, against a single attack, all penalties to defense can be ignored. Every successful parry using this charm grants a point of initiative.
Excellent Strike (Melee): If 3 motes are spend with an attack, add 1 success, also keep rerolling 1s on the attack roll until non remain.
One Weapon Two Blows (Melee): If her attack lowers an opponent's initiative below that of Final Iron Skies, she can spend 3 motes to immediately and without penalty carry out another attack.
Fire and Stones Strike (Melee): Whilst attacking, Final Iron Skies can spend up to her strength (3) motes, if she hits, each adds 1 point of -post- soak damage. On a Decisive attack she instead can spend up to Essence (1) motes to transfer successes from the attack roll to the damage roll.
Solar Counterattack (Melee): This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 3 motes as she attempts to parry an attack, striking before damage is rolled against her in an immediate Decisive attack of her own that does not count as her combat action. This will reduce her Initiative as with any other decisive attack.
Ready in Eight Directions Stance (Melee): This allows Final Iron Skies to use her combat action and spend 5 motes, then she can counter all incoming attacks as if she was using Solar Counterattack, for the rest of her turn. However her Initiative does not reset until the next round begins meaning she can potentially launch any number of Decisive counter-attacks if people are stupid enough to keep attacking her.
Charms are the main power of the Exalted, Final Iron Skies will receive another 5 over the course of the next few updates, before her progression slows to a more sedate rate.
Last edited:
Ultramandalore
Errant Quester
- Location
- just south of Parts Unknown
[X] Find a local settlement to rest and recuperate. Final Iron Skies does not have anything to trade but she is a skilled physician and with her new abilities can no doubt greatly aid them even if her propensity is toward violence. She has inhuman endurance but she still needs to eat, drink, sleep and rest, not to mention heal. On the other hand her husband always used to be the one to negotiate when they met with local tribes and she is likely to be viewed with suspicion.
- Location
- Virginia
[X] Fly east to the city of Ascension, much like Sezakan this city resists the endless winter through ancient Solar magic that also maintains the thickness of the air at it's great altitude. Ascension itself mines the heights for ores and precious metals whilst lower down is Footstep, a haven for miners, explorers, gamblers and thieves. Final Iron Skies has visited before and it is the nearest major settlement. Perhaps she can find employment or answers there?
[X] Soar South West, to the pack ice at the edge of the great Western Ocean then perhaps beyond. Final Iron Skies always wanted to witness the sea. If nothing else she can now explore more of Creation.
(Gain a Defining Principle: I wish to experience the breadth of Creation)
Exploration! New ppaces! Mysteries! Whats not to like?
It is also a subtle nods towards her adventures with her husband.
(Gain a Defining Principle: I wish to experience the breadth of Creation)
Exploration! New ppaces! Mysteries! Whats not to like?
It is also a subtle nods towards her adventures with her husband.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Find a local settlement to rest and recuperate. Final Iron Skies does not have anything to trade but she is a skilled physician and with her new abilities can no doubt greatly aid them even if her propensity is toward violence. She has inhuman endurance but she still needs to eat, drink, sleep and rest, not to mention heal. On the other hand her husband always used to be the one to negotiate when they met with local tribes and she is likely to be viewed with suspicion.
- Location
- italy bologna
[X] Fly east to the city of Ascension, much like Sezakan this city resists the endless winter through ancient Solar magic that also maintains the thickness of the air at it's great altitude. Ascension itself mines the heights for ores and precious metals whilst lower down is Footstep, a haven for miners, explorers, gamblers and thieves. Final Iron Skies has visited before and it is the nearest major settlement. Perhaps she can find employment or answers there?
This is really a good start!!!!
I need more exalted!
This is really a good start!!!!
I need more exalted!
[X] Soar South West, to the pack ice at the edge of the great Western Ocean then perhaps beyond. Final Iron Skies always wanted to witness the sea. If nothing else she can now explore more of Creation.
(Gain a Defining Principle: I wish to experience the breadth of Creation)
(Gain a Defining Principle: I wish to experience the breadth of Creation)
Heading south and west, down from the far northern mountains at the edge of Creation, Final Iron Skies finds flight becoming easier as the chill air grows thicker. The eternal winter of the far northern mountains is replaced by near permafrost tundra with the base of the mountains wrapped by bands of straggly, frost bound conifers.
The rush of her Second Breath is failing though with pain, hunger and exhaustion starting to become more apparent. Final Iron Skies can feel the sun bright furnace heat of the essence inside of her, she knows that she could push with it, offset this perhaps... But feels there is definitely a limit to such things.
She needs food and somewhere to rest but neither is likely to present a vast difficulty even without her new power. With a snap of her pinions, tucks in her feathers and banks, circling downward whilst turning inhumanly keen eyes to the landscape below. Then? Well it comes naturally, she lets her newfound essence surge and flow through her body, her mind. Immediately her senses become more acute, her focus more sure, ever trick and memory immediately there to recall.
It was never this easy before. Every detail springs immediately to mind, the lay of the land suggesting itself immediately where to search, where to look, where to see. As soon as she is low enough Final Iron Skies picks out tracks in fresh fallen snow and feels herself intuitively realizing just she what is looking at.
A large northern white furred bear in good health, she knows it is male, knows that it passed by only a half hour before. Even through the sparse foliage cover she has no trouble following the trail until she finds the beast at the edge of a lake, breaking the ice and feasting on the fish below. This far north there are only a few months of the year that are not winter and hibernation tends to be interrupted.
A bear massing over a half ton. Fighting the creature singlehandedly would have been remarkably dangerous even for her a few days ago, but now?
She angles her grey pinions and dives, shifting her feathersteel spear to the ready even as she tugs one of the weighted darts from the brace upon her leg. The bear registers her approach and does not quite understand it but realization dawns as right before impact she flares her wings to bring herself up short and releases the steel tipped projectile.
The bear roars, an effective deterrent to most threats but not to a foot long length of weighted and razor sharp metal. That roar changes in timbre as the dart rips across his shoulder to shear away heavy fur and draw a glimmer of blood, glancing off the thick hide to thunk deep into the ice but leaving the bear reeling.
Turning as she zooms overhead, a huge paw waves in a futile attempt to hit the woman overhead but she is well out of reach. Then some kind of realization dawns and the beast turns to abandon it's fishing site and lumber with surprising speed toward the tree cover.
Final Iron Skies clenches her jaw at that and turns, pivoting upon a wingtip over the lake, considering the tight confines of the woods... Then she alights upon the snow with a miniature blizzard preceding her and a thunk of boots as she skids to a halt. A snap of her wings then before she mostly furls them and shifts her spear to a two handed grip, lowering the point, starting a deliberate approach on foot.
The bear rounds upon her of course but she has his reach precisely assessed by now and the creature did not realize the implication of her additional, feathery limbs. Her lunge is coupled with a beat of pinions that drives her forward at impossibly blurring speed
She flows forward with impossible grace, barely touching the snow, a thack of feathers against air as she then abruptly arrests her motion simultaneous with stabbing the gleaming tip of her spear for the bear's face. He recoils back, avoiding being struck, but was perfectly manoeuvred so that this stumbles the beast into the tree he was trying to use for cover.
Final Iron Skies circles him then, batting aside the sweep of one huge paw with a flick of her weapon then tapping with the butt of her spear to send the bear sprawling, still barely hurt but impacting the forest floor heavily and utterly at her mercy. She is not feeling very merciful.
A single perfectly precise stab to the heart finished the one sided battle with the huge bear succumbing in moments to leave Final Iron Skies standing not just completely untouched but also having never come close to being hit. Once the initial rush starts to fade that leaves her rather shocked, she was not trying very hard – she tapped only a fraction of her newfound strength.
Definitely something to ponder as she retrieves her throwing dart then sets about dressing her skill and harvesting more than enough meat. She does not have the time or tools to do much with the pelt but she certainly does not need to worry about food and has no difficulties with establishing a crude shelter before cooking herself a much needed meal.
She does need clothes without holes in them though, the minor injuries from the massacre at Sezakan which healed with improbable speed, but she was hit a number of times only for her essence to mostly ward off actual damage as it surged to her skin.
She is eager not to linger this close to the city though and continues further south over the next two weeks or so, hunting where needed, avoiding contact with any tribes or villages she spots on the way so as to not leave a trail or any means of tracking her aerial progress.
As she progresses the landscape grows less bleak even with the further progression of Season of Wood toward Calibration and the end of the year. Whilst this is still barely inhabited tundra there starts to become more signs of permanent habitation, more vegetation, less of the eternal snow and ice that she is used to.
Finally she arrives at the coast and soars upward, spiralling, drinking in the sight of the ocean at the mouth of a vast bay. She rises higher, higher, straining her wings until she is tens of thousands of feet in the air and can see for hundreds of miles across the flat terrain of Creation. Far, far to the south, across intervening continents as well as oceans, she can see the upper reaches of the Imperial Mountain, the elemental pole of earth maybe eight thousand miles away upon the Blessed Isle.
Then, finally, she descends, wings aching, eyes streaming. As she descends things smaller than vast geographic features become apparent but where does she aim next?
[] Off the coast, beyond the ice, there is a ship! It must be a ship though she has never seen one before. Perhaps she should investigate?
[] To the south there is some manner of coastal settlement, no city, but certainly a town rather than a village. She should introduce herself and return to human contact.
Also Final Iron Skies' power continues to manifest and she will gain one additional charm. But which?
[] Graceful Crane Stance (Athletics). May be activated at any time for 3 motes then for the rest of the scene provides perfect balance and effectively negates her weight. This would allow wuxia fears such as dancing across lilly pads, running across narrow wires or perching atop the tip of a pine tree without any requirement to roll. Not 100% useful for somebody who can fly but it combines into later abilities.
[] Surprise Anticipation Method (Awareness). If subject to any source of harm not readily apparent, such an ambush, a trap or poison, when rolling Awareness Final Iron Skies then gains 1 mote for every 9 and two motes for every 10 on the dice. These motes can then be used to immediately activate Awareness Charms to reveal the threat (including boosting dice pools with excellencies). This also functions is she is asleep or incapacitated and she will automatically be revived if she succeeds.
[] Wound-Mending Care Technique (Medicine). This allows, with 15 minutes to an hour of conventional medical care, a roll of intelligence+medicine with each success healing a full health level if the recipient remains in bed for the rest of the day. Healing can naturally take weeks for mortals but use of this ability does cost a point of Willpower as well as 5 motes.
[] Ox-Body Technique (Resistance). Final Iron Skies already has this ability once but she can currently take it up for four times. Each purchase gives her an additional three health levels, right now she has ten, so this would make her almost a third harder to kill.
[] Body Mending Meditation (Resistance). This allows Final Iron Skies to spend ten motes, medicate for an hour, then roll Stamina + Resistance and provided she rests for the remainder of the day, multiple her healing rate by the number of successes. This can also augment the use of Wound Mending Care Technique on herself. As her Essence rises, this will become even more powerful.
[] Precision of the Striking Raptor (Thrown). This allows supplementing of a Withering Thrown attack at a cost of 1 mote. The attack will always be treated as taking place at Close range, or if carried out at Close range, the enemy will have their defense lowered by 1.
Or she can instead focus on her true area of expertise and take one of the following Melee charms. She is able to chose from more powerful abilities here, not only does she have perquisite abilities, but in Melee she can potentially take ANY charm without regard to Essence limitations. Focused progression here could lead to her soon being able to literally parry mountains or to be able to at great cost attack a half dozen times in a single action.
[] Peony Blossom Technique – When Final Iron Skies has a fully manifested anima, burning at the bonfire level, she can spend 1 mote, 1 willpower and snuff out her anima in order to immediately make an attack even she has already attacked this turn. - This will lead to further multiple attack powers.
[] Bulwark Stance – By spending 5 motes, Final Iron Skies can ignore all penalties to her parry defence until her next turn, additionally any damage rolls against her suffer a -1 penalty for each 1 on the attack roll (capped at 1 until her essence increases). - This will lead to more powerful defensive abilities.
[] Solar Counterattack – This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 3 motes as she attempts to parry an attack, striking before damage is rolled against her in an immediate Decisive attack of her own that does not count as her combat action. This will reduce her Initiative as with any other decisive attack. - This leads to further counter attack oriented powers.
[] Call The Blade – This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 1 mote then roll Wits+Melee with a difficulty of 4, on success she teleports her weapon to hand without needing to ready it and regardless of intervening objects or obstacles. On a failure it still flies to her hand but can be thwarted by doors or chains and does not arrive until her next turn. This does not allow her to steal weapons! - This does lead to further weapon shenanigans or even ranged melee attacks.
The rush of her Second Breath is failing though with pain, hunger and exhaustion starting to become more apparent. Final Iron Skies can feel the sun bright furnace heat of the essence inside of her, she knows that she could push with it, offset this perhaps... But feels there is definitely a limit to such things.
She needs food and somewhere to rest but neither is likely to present a vast difficulty even without her new power. With a snap of her pinions, tucks in her feathers and banks, circling downward whilst turning inhumanly keen eyes to the landscape below. Then? Well it comes naturally, she lets her newfound essence surge and flow through her body, her mind. Immediately her senses become more acute, her focus more sure, ever trick and memory immediately there to recall.
Wits (4) + Survival (3) + Specialisation: North (1) + Excellency (7) = 15 Dice
5 7 7 3 6 9 2 10 4 6 5 10 3 1 10
9 Successes
7 Personal Essence Motes Spent (6/13 remaining)
Opposed Roll
5 Dice Pool
10 5 1 9 3
3 Successes
6 net successes, overwhelming victory.
5 7 7 3 6 9 2 10 4 6 5 10 3 1 10
9 Successes
7 Personal Essence Motes Spent (6/13 remaining)
Opposed Roll
5 Dice Pool
10 5 1 9 3
3 Successes
6 net successes, overwhelming victory.
As a Solar, Final Iron Skies can inherently spend her essence to achieve impossible expertise. Any Ability that is Favoured (For Final Iron Skies this means Athletics, Awareness, Brawl, Dodge, Integrity, Medicine, Melee, Occult, Resistance or Thrown) or any ability she possesses a Charm for, can have any roll augmented.
She can expend 1 mote for each extra die on a roll up to a maximum of her attribute plus skill, or spend 2 motes to augment a static value associated with an ability by one point. Given that 11 dice is the peak of normal human capability this is incredibly potent, it allows Final Iron Skies to better any mortal opposition even in areas where she is merely skilled.
Excellencies are not very efficient with essence though and at her current stage of enlightenment Final Iron Skies has a total of 43 Essence. 13 is 'personal essence' and can be used freely, 33 is 'peripheral essence' and using it will essentially cause her to glow with increasing brightness until after spending about sixteen points in rapid succession she will be blazing like a second sun and visible to the horizon. This does have mechanical benefits but is not at all subtle.
Essence recovers over time at a fairly rapid rate, about 4 points an hour during normal activities and eight if sleeping or mediating. It also recovers much faster during high intensity situations like combat and there are various ways to increase this such as by finding mystical sites known as 'Demense'.
Right now though it only takes a few hours for Final Iron Skies to recuperate her entire pool of essence motes.
She can expend 1 mote for each extra die on a roll up to a maximum of her attribute plus skill, or spend 2 motes to augment a static value associated with an ability by one point. Given that 11 dice is the peak of normal human capability this is incredibly potent, it allows Final Iron Skies to better any mortal opposition even in areas where she is merely skilled.
Excellencies are not very efficient with essence though and at her current stage of enlightenment Final Iron Skies has a total of 43 Essence. 13 is 'personal essence' and can be used freely, 33 is 'peripheral essence' and using it will essentially cause her to glow with increasing brightness until after spending about sixteen points in rapid succession she will be blazing like a second sun and visible to the horizon. This does have mechanical benefits but is not at all subtle.
Essence recovers over time at a fairly rapid rate, about 4 points an hour during normal activities and eight if sleeping or mediating. It also recovers much faster during high intensity situations like combat and there are various ways to increase this such as by finding mystical sites known as 'Demense'.
Right now though it only takes a few hours for Final Iron Skies to recuperate her entire pool of essence motes.
It was never this easy before. Every detail springs immediately to mind, the lay of the land suggesting itself immediately where to search, where to look, where to see. As soon as she is low enough Final Iron Skies picks out tracks in fresh fallen snow and feels herself intuitively realizing just she what is looking at.
A large northern white furred bear in good health, she knows it is male, knows that it passed by only a half hour before. Even through the sparse foliage cover she has no trouble following the trail until she finds the beast at the edge of a lake, breaking the ice and feasting on the fish below. This far north there are only a few months of the year that are not winter and hibernation tends to be interrupted.
A bear massing over a half ton. Fighting the creature singlehandedly would have been remarkably dangerous even for her a few days ago, but now?
She angles her grey pinions and dives, shifting her feathersteel spear to the ready even as she tugs one of the weighted darts from the brace upon her leg. The bear registers her approach and does not quite understand it but realization dawns as right before impact she flares her wings to bring herself up short and releases the steel tipped projectile.
Join Battle- Final Iron Skies Wits (4) + Awareness (4) = 8 Dice
Bear- 5 dice
Final Iron Skies: 7 9 7 2 7 8 10 10
9 successes
Bear: 2 2 7 5 10
3 successes
Final Iron Skies begins with 12 Initiative and goes first, the bear has 6 initiative.
Final Iron Skies opens with a Withering attack using Thrown, Withering attacks are narratively attempts to defeat one's foe but mechanically rob an opponent's initiative and add it to you instead of inflicting damage.
Bear- 5 dice
Final Iron Skies: 7 9 7 2 7 8 10 10
9 successes
Bear: 2 2 7 5 10
3 successes
Final Iron Skies begins with 12 Initiative and goes first, the bear has 6 initiative.
Final Iron Skies opens with a Withering attack using Thrown, Withering attacks are narratively attempts to defeat one's foe but mechanically rob an opponent's initiative and add it to you instead of inflicting damage.
Withering Attack using throwing dart:
Dexterity (5) + Thrown (3) + Accuracy (3, Thrown weapon at close range) – 3 (Flying) = 7 Dice
9 3 9 10 8 8 6 – 6 Successes
The bear has a Parry defense value of 3 and an Evasion of 2, bears cannot parry thrown darts with their hands effectively though and so the bear has to rely upon Evasion.
Hit! With 4 net successes. Damage is 3 for Final Iron Skies strength, +9 for her light thrown weapon, +4 for net successes, sixteen raw damage.
Bears are tough and have ten soak, for six net damage. 10s are NOT doubled on damage rolls by default.
3 5 9 9 6 9
3 Damage!
Now Final Iron Skies gets +1 initiative for hitting, +3 from Withering attack damage, taking her to 16 and reducing the bear to 3.
The bear has a huge problem in that Final Iron Skies is flying and it is not a bear capable of flight. It will instead move to Medium range and try to take cover, because it is a smart bear.
Difficulty 2 to take cover in the trees
Bear rolls 4 dice
6 8 7 4
2 Successes! Bear now has Light Cover raising the Bear's defence by 1. This will also apply to Final Iron Skies if she is at Close range.
End of first combat round. Final Iron Skies regains 5 motes, taking her Personal Pool to 11/13
Dexterity (5) + Thrown (3) + Accuracy (3, Thrown weapon at close range) – 3 (Flying) = 7 Dice
9 3 9 10 8 8 6 – 6 Successes
The bear has a Parry defense value of 3 and an Evasion of 2, bears cannot parry thrown darts with their hands effectively though and so the bear has to rely upon Evasion.
Hit! With 4 net successes. Damage is 3 for Final Iron Skies strength, +9 for her light thrown weapon, +4 for net successes, sixteen raw damage.
Bears are tough and have ten soak, for six net damage. 10s are NOT doubled on damage rolls by default.
3 5 9 9 6 9
3 Damage!
Now Final Iron Skies gets +1 initiative for hitting, +3 from Withering attack damage, taking her to 16 and reducing the bear to 3.
The bear has a huge problem in that Final Iron Skies is flying and it is not a bear capable of flight. It will instead move to Medium range and try to take cover, because it is a smart bear.
Difficulty 2 to take cover in the trees
Bear rolls 4 dice
6 8 7 4
2 Successes! Bear now has Light Cover raising the Bear's defence by 1. This will also apply to Final Iron Skies if she is at Close range.
End of first combat round. Final Iron Skies regains 5 motes, taking her Personal Pool to 11/13
The bear roars, an effective deterrent to most threats but not to a foot long length of weighted and razor sharp metal. That roar changes in timbre as the dart rips across his shoulder to shear away heavy fur and draw a glimmer of blood, glancing off the thick hide to thunk deep into the ice but leaving the bear reeling.
Turning as she zooms overhead, a huge paw waves in a futile attempt to hit the woman overhead but she is well out of reach. Then some kind of realization dawns and the beast turns to abandon it's fishing site and lumber with surprising speed toward the tree cover.
Final Iron Skies clenches her jaw at that and turns, pivoting upon a wingtip over the lake, considering the tight confines of the woods... Then she alights upon the snow with a miniature blizzard preceding her and a thunk of boots as she skids to a halt. A snap of her wings then before she mostly furls them and shifts her spear to a two handed grip, lowering the point, starting a deliberate approach on foot.
The bear rounds upon her of course but she has his reach precisely assessed by now and the creature did not realize the implication of her additional, feathery limbs. Her lunge is coupled with a beat of pinions that drives her forward at impossibly blurring speed
Final Iron Skies takes her movement action to close to Short Range, then flurries a Rush action and another Withering Attack.
A Rush is a contested roll to close from Short range then keep pace with an opponent.
A flurry allows a character to take two seperate combat actions on their turn as long as they are not the same (no attacking twice for example) but gives a -3 to each action and lowers Defence by 1 point.
Rush:
Final Iron Skies – Dexterity (5) + Athletics (3) + Flight Speciality (1) -3 (Flurry) + Excellency (4) = 10 dice
1 5 5 1 8 7 5 5 10 8
5 Successes
Bear – 6 dice
8 1 5 10 4 6
3 Successes
Rush successful!
Withering Attack using Spear:
Dexterity (5) + Melee (5) + Spears Speciality (1) + Weapon Accuracy (2) – 3 (Flurry) = 10 Dice
Spending 2 personal motes to activate Excellent Strike, granting 1 free success and rerolling 1s
Spending 3 personal motes to activate Fire and Stones Strike, granting a bonus three post soak damage.
4 1 7 2 7 8 1 8 10 6
6 Successes
Rerolling 1s
3 3
No change, 6+1 successes. The bear has a Parry of 3, +1 from Cover, for 4, net three successes.
Damage is 3 from Strength, 9 from weapon, 3 from net successes, or 15, -10 from the bear's soak for 5. + 3 from Fire and Stones Strike for seven.
5 6 9 1 3 8 9 4
3 Withering damage.
Final Iron Skies gains 4 initiative, taking her to 20, bear loses 3 initative, reducing him to 0 and putting him into Initiative Crash. This grants Final Iron Skies another 5 initiative, taking her to 25.
In Initiative Crash the bear is unable to launch decisive attacks as well as being quite unhappy, however he can now reach Final Iron Skies and launches a Withering attack of his own.
Final Iron Skies spends her two remaining Personal motes to activate Dipping Swallow Defence, allowing her to ignore any penalties to her defence (such as from the flurry she carried out), if she successfully parries she will also gain 1 Initiative.
Bear Claw – 12 dice
2 6 1 3 10 9 8 4 2 10 6 1
6 successes – Final Iron Skies has a Parry defence of 6, +1 from her spear, +1 from cover. She successfully parries and raises to Initiative 26.
End of second combat round, Final Iron Skies recovers 5 Personal essence (5/13)
A Rush is a contested roll to close from Short range then keep pace with an opponent.
A flurry allows a character to take two seperate combat actions on their turn as long as they are not the same (no attacking twice for example) but gives a -3 to each action and lowers Defence by 1 point.
Rush:
Final Iron Skies – Dexterity (5) + Athletics (3) + Flight Speciality (1) -3 (Flurry) + Excellency (4) = 10 dice
1 5 5 1 8 7 5 5 10 8
5 Successes
Bear – 6 dice
8 1 5 10 4 6
3 Successes
Rush successful!
Withering Attack using Spear:
Dexterity (5) + Melee (5) + Spears Speciality (1) + Weapon Accuracy (2) – 3 (Flurry) = 10 Dice
Spending 2 personal motes to activate Excellent Strike, granting 1 free success and rerolling 1s
Spending 3 personal motes to activate Fire and Stones Strike, granting a bonus three post soak damage.
4 1 7 2 7 8 1 8 10 6
6 Successes
Rerolling 1s
3 3
No change, 6+1 successes. The bear has a Parry of 3, +1 from Cover, for 4, net three successes.
Damage is 3 from Strength, 9 from weapon, 3 from net successes, or 15, -10 from the bear's soak for 5. + 3 from Fire and Stones Strike for seven.
5 6 9 1 3 8 9 4
3 Withering damage.
Final Iron Skies gains 4 initiative, taking her to 20, bear loses 3 initative, reducing him to 0 and putting him into Initiative Crash. This grants Final Iron Skies another 5 initiative, taking her to 25.
In Initiative Crash the bear is unable to launch decisive attacks as well as being quite unhappy, however he can now reach Final Iron Skies and launches a Withering attack of his own.
Final Iron Skies spends her two remaining Personal motes to activate Dipping Swallow Defence, allowing her to ignore any penalties to her defence (such as from the flurry she carried out), if she successfully parries she will also gain 1 Initiative.
Bear Claw – 12 dice
2 6 1 3 10 9 8 4 2 10 6 1
6 successes – Final Iron Skies has a Parry defence of 6, +1 from her spear, +1 from cover. She successfully parries and raises to Initiative 26.
End of second combat round, Final Iron Skies recovers 5 Personal essence (5/13)
She flows forward with impossible grace, barely touching the snow, a thack of feathers against air as she then abruptly arrests her motion simultaneous with stabbing the gleaming tip of her spear for the bear's face. He recoils back, avoiding being struck, but was perfectly manoeuvred so that this stumbles the beast into the tree he was trying to use for cover.
Final Iron Skies circles him then, batting aside the sweep of one huge paw with a flick of her weapon then tapping with the butt of her spear to send the bear sprawling, still barely hurt but impacting the forest floor heavily and utterly at her mercy. She is not feeling very merciful.
Final Iron Skies is going first, with 26 initiative against the 0 of the bear.
She opens with a Decisive Attack, this is an attempt to kill or severely wound a foe and if successful with expend almost all of her initiative, damage is also dependent upon initiative and weapon accuracy does not apply.
Decisive Attack: Dexterity (5) + Melee (5) + Spears Speciality (1) = 11 Dice
Excellent Strike used for 3 motes, adding 1 success and rerolling 1s
8 9 10 6 9 7 8 10 10 7 4
12+1, thirteen successes! Which is amazing, but also pretty pointless given that successes do not add to damage on decisive attacks. Needless to say this hits.
Damage: 26
1 7 4 2 9 7 8 7 7 8 10 3 5 1 6 3 10 5 9 8 7 5 6 1 2 2
10s do not double on damage, so 12 successes! 7 damage is enough to outright incapacitate even a mortal hero, a bear takes 11. 12 damage is enough to immediately kill an uninjured bear.
This also drops Final Iron Skies down to three (baseline) initiative but the fight is over.
End of third combat round, personal essence increases to 7/13
She opens with a Decisive Attack, this is an attempt to kill or severely wound a foe and if successful with expend almost all of her initiative, damage is also dependent upon initiative and weapon accuracy does not apply.
Decisive Attack: Dexterity (5) + Melee (5) + Spears Speciality (1) = 11 Dice
Excellent Strike used for 3 motes, adding 1 success and rerolling 1s
8 9 10 6 9 7 8 10 10 7 4
12+1, thirteen successes! Which is amazing, but also pretty pointless given that successes do not add to damage on decisive attacks. Needless to say this hits.
Damage: 26
1 7 4 2 9 7 8 7 7 8 10 3 5 1 6 3 10 5 9 8 7 5 6 1 2 2
10s do not double on damage, so 12 successes! 7 damage is enough to outright incapacitate even a mortal hero, a bear takes 11. 12 damage is enough to immediately kill an uninjured bear.
This also drops Final Iron Skies down to three (baseline) initiative but the fight is over.
End of third combat round, personal essence increases to 7/13
A single perfectly precise stab to the heart finished the one sided battle with the huge bear succumbing in moments to leave Final Iron Skies standing not just completely untouched but also having never come close to being hit. Once the initial rush starts to fade that leaves her rather shocked, she was not trying very hard – she tapped only a fraction of her newfound strength.
Definitely something to ponder as she retrieves her throwing dart then sets about dressing her skill and harvesting more than enough meat. She does not have the time or tools to do much with the pelt but she certainly does not need to worry about food and has no difficulties with establishing a crude shelter before cooking herself a much needed meal.
She does need clothes without holes in them though, the minor injuries from the massacre at Sezakan which healed with improbable speed, but she was hit a number of times only for her essence to mostly ward off actual damage as it surged to her skin.
She is eager not to linger this close to the city though and continues further south over the next two weeks or so, hunting where needed, avoiding contact with any tribes or villages she spots on the way so as to not leave a trail or any means of tracking her aerial progress.
As she progresses the landscape grows less bleak even with the further progression of Season of Wood toward Calibration and the end of the year. Whilst this is still barely inhabited tundra there starts to become more signs of permanent habitation, more vegetation, less of the eternal snow and ice that she is used to.
Finally she arrives at the coast and soars upward, spiralling, drinking in the sight of the ocean at the mouth of a vast bay. She rises higher, higher, straining her wings until she is tens of thousands of feet in the air and can see for hundreds of miles across the flat terrain of Creation. Far, far to the south, across intervening continents as well as oceans, she can see the upper reaches of the Imperial Mountain, the elemental pole of earth maybe eight thousand miles away upon the Blessed Isle.
Then, finally, she descends, wings aching, eyes streaming. As she descends things smaller than vast geographic features become apparent but where does she aim next?
[] Off the coast, beyond the ice, there is a ship! It must be a ship though she has never seen one before. Perhaps she should investigate?
[] To the south there is some manner of coastal settlement, no city, but certainly a town rather than a village. She should introduce herself and return to human contact.
Also Final Iron Skies' power continues to manifest and she will gain one additional charm. But which?
[] Graceful Crane Stance (Athletics). May be activated at any time for 3 motes then for the rest of the scene provides perfect balance and effectively negates her weight. This would allow wuxia fears such as dancing across lilly pads, running across narrow wires or perching atop the tip of a pine tree without any requirement to roll. Not 100% useful for somebody who can fly but it combines into later abilities.
[] Surprise Anticipation Method (Awareness). If subject to any source of harm not readily apparent, such an ambush, a trap or poison, when rolling Awareness Final Iron Skies then gains 1 mote for every 9 and two motes for every 10 on the dice. These motes can then be used to immediately activate Awareness Charms to reveal the threat (including boosting dice pools with excellencies). This also functions is she is asleep or incapacitated and she will automatically be revived if she succeeds.
[] Wound-Mending Care Technique (Medicine). This allows, with 15 minutes to an hour of conventional medical care, a roll of intelligence+medicine with each success healing a full health level if the recipient remains in bed for the rest of the day. Healing can naturally take weeks for mortals but use of this ability does cost a point of Willpower as well as 5 motes.
[] Ox-Body Technique (Resistance). Final Iron Skies already has this ability once but she can currently take it up for four times. Each purchase gives her an additional three health levels, right now she has ten, so this would make her almost a third harder to kill.
[] Body Mending Meditation (Resistance). This allows Final Iron Skies to spend ten motes, medicate for an hour, then roll Stamina + Resistance and provided she rests for the remainder of the day, multiple her healing rate by the number of successes. This can also augment the use of Wound Mending Care Technique on herself. As her Essence rises, this will become even more powerful.
[] Precision of the Striking Raptor (Thrown). This allows supplementing of a Withering Thrown attack at a cost of 1 mote. The attack will always be treated as taking place at Close range, or if carried out at Close range, the enemy will have their defense lowered by 1.
Or she can instead focus on her true area of expertise and take one of the following Melee charms. She is able to chose from more powerful abilities here, not only does she have perquisite abilities, but in Melee she can potentially take ANY charm without regard to Essence limitations. Focused progression here could lead to her soon being able to literally parry mountains or to be able to at great cost attack a half dozen times in a single action.
[] Peony Blossom Technique – When Final Iron Skies has a fully manifested anima, burning at the bonfire level, she can spend 1 mote, 1 willpower and snuff out her anima in order to immediately make an attack even she has already attacked this turn. - This will lead to further multiple attack powers.
[] Bulwark Stance – By spending 5 motes, Final Iron Skies can ignore all penalties to her parry defence until her next turn, additionally any damage rolls against her suffer a -1 penalty for each 1 on the attack roll (capped at 1 until her essence increases). - This will lead to more powerful defensive abilities.
[] Solar Counterattack – This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 3 motes as she attempts to parry an attack, striking before damage is rolled against her in an immediate Decisive attack of her own that does not count as her combat action. This will reduce her Initiative as with any other decisive attack. - This leads to further counter attack oriented powers.
[] Call The Blade – This allows Final Iron Skies to spend 1 mote then roll Wits+Melee with a difficulty of 4, on success she teleports her weapon to hand without needing to ready it and regardless of intervening objects or obstacles. On a failure it still flies to her hand but can be thwarted by doors or chains and does not arrive until her next turn. This does not allow her to steal weapons! - This does lead to further weapon shenanigans or even ranged melee attacks.
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Ultramandalore
Errant Quester
- Location
- just south of Parts Unknown
[X] To the south there is some manner of coastal settlement, no city, but certainly a town rather than a village. She should introduce herself and return to human contact.
[X] Ox-Body Technique (Resistance). Final Iron Skies already has this ability once but she can currently take it up for four times. Each purchase gives her an additional three health levels, right now she has ten, so this would make her almost a third harder to kill.
[X] Ox-Body Technique (Resistance). Final Iron Skies already has this ability once but she can currently take it up for four times. Each purchase gives her an additional three health levels, right now she has ten, so this would make her almost a third harder to kill.
[X] To the south there is some manner of coastal settlement, no city, but certainly a town rather than a village. She should introduce herself and return to human contact.
[X] Surprise Anticipation Method (Awareness). If subject to any source of harm not readily apparent, such an ambush, a trap or poison, when rolling Awareness Final Iron Skies then gains 1 mote for every 9 and two motes for every 10 on the dice. These motes can then be used to immediately activate Awareness Charms to reveal the threat (including boosting dice pools with excellencies). This also functions is she is asleep or incapacitated and she will automatically be revived if she succeeds.
We are alone and at risk from all, so readiness against unexpected harm is crucial
[X] Surprise Anticipation Method (Awareness). If subject to any source of harm not readily apparent, such an ambush, a trap or poison, when rolling Awareness Final Iron Skies then gains 1 mote for every 9 and two motes for every 10 on the dice. These motes can then be used to immediately activate Awareness Charms to reveal the threat (including boosting dice pools with excellencies). This also functions is she is asleep or incapacitated and she will automatically be revived if she succeeds.
We are alone and at risk from all, so readiness against unexpected harm is crucial
It looks as if what charm to get is still very much in the air then, also to give some perspective on how Final Iron Skies stacks up against relatable (or at least likely) opposition:
For melee, she rolls 14 dice and hits for 12 damage at base, but she can boost this up to an effective 24 dice, her base parry is 7 using her spear but this can be raised up to 12 against individual attacks and by expending essence she can avoid penalties from multiple attackers.
A professional soldier using a sword attacks rolling 7 dice with a damage of 12 and has a parry of 4. Yes this does mean that a single professional soldier in a one on one fight is almost completely unable to hit her even if she is not spending any essence. These are not significant foes and would need to face her in massive numbers to present a threat. A battle group of several hundred soldiers would still not present much danger without commanding and assisting heroic characters though.
A blood ape, a typical combative demon, attacks rolling 11 dice with a damage of 15 and has a parry of 4. It has various nasty grappling powers and the ability to attack twice at moderately severe cost. Any significant number of demons is a legitimate danger and certainly likely to force Final Iron Skies to draw heavily upon her peripheral essence.
A cataphract, a champion of the fair folk from beyond the borders of creation, attacks rolling 16 dice with a damage of 16 and a parry of 7, better than Final Iron Skies, but has much less powerful magic outside of the ability to summon a small army into existence. This would still be a very tough fight though given how durable they are (18 health levels) and their superior armour, she can probably win with her current combat abilities but only by blazing with peripheral essence and likely wounded in the process.
For melee, she rolls 14 dice and hits for 12 damage at base, but she can boost this up to an effective 24 dice, her base parry is 7 using her spear but this can be raised up to 12 against individual attacks and by expending essence she can avoid penalties from multiple attackers.
A professional soldier using a sword attacks rolling 7 dice with a damage of 12 and has a parry of 4. Yes this does mean that a single professional soldier in a one on one fight is almost completely unable to hit her even if she is not spending any essence. These are not significant foes and would need to face her in massive numbers to present a threat. A battle group of several hundred soldiers would still not present much danger without commanding and assisting heroic characters though.
A blood ape, a typical combative demon, attacks rolling 11 dice with a damage of 15 and has a parry of 4. It has various nasty grappling powers and the ability to attack twice at moderately severe cost. Any significant number of demons is a legitimate danger and certainly likely to force Final Iron Skies to draw heavily upon her peripheral essence.
A cataphract, a champion of the fair folk from beyond the borders of creation, attacks rolling 16 dice with a damage of 16 and a parry of 7, better than Final Iron Skies, but has much less powerful magic outside of the ability to summon a small army into existence. This would still be a very tough fight though given how durable they are (18 health levels) and their superior armour, she can probably win with her current combat abilities but only by blazing with peripheral essence and likely wounded in the process.
- Location
- South Africa
New
[X] To the south there is some manner of coastal settlement, no city, but certainly a town rather than a village. She should introduce herself and return to human contact.
[X] Ox-Body Technique (Resistance). Final Iron Skies already has this ability once but she can currently take it up for four times. Each purchase gives her an additional three health levels, right now she has ten, so this would make her almost a third harder to kill.
[X] Ox-Body Technique (Resistance). Final Iron Skies already has this ability once but she can currently take it up for four times. Each purchase gives her an additional three health levels, right now she has ten, so this would make her almost a third harder to kill.
- Location
- italy bologna
[X] To the south there is some manner of coastal settlement, no city, but certainly a town rather than a village. She should introduce herself and return to human contact.
[X] Ox-Body Technique(Resistance). Final Iron Skies already has this ability once but she can currently take it up for four times. Each purchase gives her an additional three health levels, right now she has ten, so this would make her almost a third harder to kill.
[X] Ox-Body Technique(Resistance). Final Iron Skies already has this ability once but she can currently take it up for four times. Each purchase gives her an additional three health levels, right now she has ten, so this would make her almost a third harder to kill.
[X] To the south there is some manner of coastal settlement, no city, but certainly a town rather than a village. She should introduce herself and return to human contact.
[X] Surprise Anticipation Method (Awareness). If subject to any source of harm not readily apparent, such an ambush, a trap or poison, when rolling Awareness Final Iron Skies then gains 1 mote for every 9 and two motes for every 10 on the dice. These motes can then be used to immediately activate Awareness Charms to reveal the threat (including boosting dice pools with excellencies). This also functions is she is asleep or incapacitated and she will automatically be revived if she succeeds.
[X] Surprise Anticipation Method (Awareness). If subject to any source of harm not readily apparent, such an ambush, a trap or poison, when rolling Awareness Final Iron Skies then gains 1 mote for every 9 and two motes for every 10 on the dice. These motes can then be used to immediately activate Awareness Charms to reveal the threat (including boosting dice pools with excellencies). This also functions is she is asleep or incapacitated and she will automatically be revived if she succeeds.
It looks like the decision to visit the settlement is unanimous, competition between Surprise Anticipation Method and Ox Body closer, but Ox Body clinches it.
That was a 'trap choice' in earlier version of the system but in 3rd edition a few Ox Bodies is a very, very solid investment for any combatent. A second purchase will take Final Iron Skies to thirteen health levels which combined with her other, damage reducing and soak boosting, charms will make her literally more able to take damage than a grizzly bear even whilst unarmoured.
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The ship is dismissed, whilst she is interested in such things she has been away from human contact for weeks. She might be still grieving and still in shock from events in Sezakan but she knows that she is not going to help herself or anyone else by turning into some manner of invincible hermit.
She also needs new clothes, proper supplies, ideally also tools and medicines. She does not have any money or easy trade goods but her skills are surely valuable and she knows full well that her feathersteel spear is worth a great deal even this far north. She is however no master negotiator and the inhabitants of the north have very good reason to fear the fair folk, her wings are going to be viewed with suspicion and fear.
As such she does not simply fly down and alight within the market square. Instead she alights outside of the northern gate of the town, inspecting it as she comes in to land. Set upon the frozen coast of the Western Ocean, this settlement, whatever it might be called, consists mostly of wooden walled and roofed buildings with a few of the grander constructions in stone toward the center and shore. Obviously serving as some manner of port, it will this far north be frozen for all but a month or two of the year though there are signs that smaller fishing boats are dragged out over the ice.
It is also walled with a sturdy wooden palisade and the gate is kept shut with a pair of bored looking teenaged guards standing watch, wrapped in thick fur, one with a bow and the other a spear, both with metal helmets. Once they notice a winged woman coming in to land they startle and panic of course before one turns and fumdles with a horn, sounding it. This prompts further and audible alarm within the town behind the walls.
Final Iron Skies waits as she grounds her spear to one side and fussily furls her wings, the wait is spend preening, a very important task for an individual with plumage. She is not worried for her own safety but is rather worried about her reception and is careful to make no rapid movements ot signs of reaching for her weaponry.
After a delay, the wall starts to flood with hastily armed men and women, readying bows and spears, before a burly middle aged woman wearing a mail hauberk, fully clad in steel, takes position over the gate and calls out to her.
"Leave us, be you Wyld creature or wretched mutant! This is no place for your kind. Begon!"
This is roughly the greeting that Final Iron Skies expected, she raises her hands, showing them empty, then reaches slowly down and unsheathes her knife. The blade is cold iron, an essential for one who has spent her entire life on the very edges of the Wyld, bane of the fair folk. Slowly, careful to avoid any threat, she presses the flat of the blade to the wrist of her left hand as she keeps it raised to show to the watching militia.
Then she calls out to them "I am not one of the fae or touched by the Wyld! See how I bare the touch of cold iron! I am a physician and warrior who seeks only guest right, the opportunity to barter my skills for food, shelter and supplies." Her voice wavers slightly, anxious, desperate after weeks without human contact and utterly heartfelt.
The woman atop the walls looks watches, narrowing her eyes slightly, but seem unmoved, the townsfolk surrounding her still tugging at hide armour as they try to finish getting into it, adjusting helmets, readying bows. She falls silent for long moments, then. "Or you are a lying beggar, perhaps even some agent seeking egress to our homes. If you have such skills why are you arriving here in torn clothes, alone and bereft of gear, as the cold season encroaches?"
Final Iron Skies is... Not happy at this answer. She meant what she said, she tried as hard as she could to get that across! She flares out her wings, feathers huge to each side of her, hand shifting it's grip upon her spear.
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Solars are cursed, whilst they did rule over a glorious golden age before being overthrown, they are also tainted by madness, the final strike launched against them by the creators of the gods before their imprisonment. There is something that causes this to trigger in Final Iron Skies, what it is?
[] If she is insulted, belittled or deliberately frustrated.
[] If she tells a lie, deliberately deceives someone, or breaks a sworn oath.
[] If she sees innocents suffering and is either unable or unwilling to help them.
[] If she is hindered or defeated by the self indulgent behaviour of those around her.
[] If her allies suffer a defeat of setback due to her own mistakes.
Violation of her Major or Defining intimacies can also help trigger her Great Curse.
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Regardless of if this response pushes her toward a bought of madness she does still need to respond.
Does she:
[] Offer to defeat whatever threat might be facing the settlement as proof of her prowess, be this fae marauders, the undead or a raiding tribe.
[] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
[] Prove her power by forcing her way into the town, fighting with the blunt end of her spear and avoiding seriously injuring anyone. If she puts down a dozen warriors without having to hurt them that will surely prove her a person worthy of consideration.
[] Just leave. These people are not worth her time.
That was a 'trap choice' in earlier version of the system but in 3rd edition a few Ox Bodies is a very, very solid investment for any combatent. A second purchase will take Final Iron Skies to thirteen health levels which combined with her other, damage reducing and soak boosting, charms will make her literally more able to take damage than a grizzly bear even whilst unarmoured.
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The ship is dismissed, whilst she is interested in such things she has been away from human contact for weeks. She might be still grieving and still in shock from events in Sezakan but she knows that she is not going to help herself or anyone else by turning into some manner of invincible hermit.
She also needs new clothes, proper supplies, ideally also tools and medicines. She does not have any money or easy trade goods but her skills are surely valuable and she knows full well that her feathersteel spear is worth a great deal even this far north. She is however no master negotiator and the inhabitants of the north have very good reason to fear the fair folk, her wings are going to be viewed with suspicion and fear.
As such she does not simply fly down and alight within the market square. Instead she alights outside of the northern gate of the town, inspecting it as she comes in to land. Set upon the frozen coast of the Western Ocean, this settlement, whatever it might be called, consists mostly of wooden walled and roofed buildings with a few of the grander constructions in stone toward the center and shore. Obviously serving as some manner of port, it will this far north be frozen for all but a month or two of the year though there are signs that smaller fishing boats are dragged out over the ice.
It is also walled with a sturdy wooden palisade and the gate is kept shut with a pair of bored looking teenaged guards standing watch, wrapped in thick fur, one with a bow and the other a spear, both with metal helmets. Once they notice a winged woman coming in to land they startle and panic of course before one turns and fumdles with a horn, sounding it. This prompts further and audible alarm within the town behind the walls.
Final Iron Skies waits as she grounds her spear to one side and fussily furls her wings, the wait is spend preening, a very important task for an individual with plumage. She is not worried for her own safety but is rather worried about her reception and is careful to make no rapid movements ot signs of reaching for her weaponry.
After a delay, the wall starts to flood with hastily armed men and women, readying bows and spears, before a burly middle aged woman wearing a mail hauberk, fully clad in steel, takes position over the gate and calls out to her.
"Leave us, be you Wyld creature or wretched mutant! This is no place for your kind. Begon!"
This is roughly the greeting that Final Iron Skies expected, she raises her hands, showing them empty, then reaches slowly down and unsheathes her knife. The blade is cold iron, an essential for one who has spent her entire life on the very edges of the Wyld, bane of the fair folk. Slowly, careful to avoid any threat, she presses the flat of the blade to the wrist of her left hand as she keeps it raised to show to the watching militia.
Then she calls out to them "I am not one of the fae or touched by the Wyld! See how I bare the touch of cold iron! I am a physician and warrior who seeks only guest right, the opportunity to barter my skills for food, shelter and supplies." Her voice wavers slightly, anxious, desperate after weeks without human contact and utterly heartfelt.
Social Influence in Exalted is not simply rolling a 'social attack' to persuade somebody to obey you, it is keyed to 'Intimacies', ties or principles that define what a character cares about. Sadly Final Iron Skies is quite awful when it comes to social skills but her very high Appearance attribute does help.
Right now Final Iron Skies is attempting a 'Bargain' action, she is asking to be let into the town and offering access to her skills in return – arriving as a flying person does lend people to assuming she has skills of some sort, they are likely in the best scenario to assume she is a God Blooded, a product of a mortal laying with a minor deity and blessed with extraordinary prowess, though as seen their immediate assumption is that she is a mutant or, worse, one of the fair folk seeking access to the town in order to reap their souls.
The town ealdorwoman has a Resolve of 3, 1 lower than Final Iron Skies Appearance, she thus gets a +1 bonus. She is also spending a Temporary Willpower, lowing her pool from 5 to 4 for a bonus success.
Final Iron Skies rolls Charisma (2) + Presence (0) + Appearance Bonus (1) = 3 dice
8 1 1
1 Successes +1 Success from Willpower, Willpower now at 4/5
2 Successes fails to beat the ealdorwoman's resolve of 3.
Right now Final Iron Skies is attempting a 'Bargain' action, she is asking to be let into the town and offering access to her skills in return – arriving as a flying person does lend people to assuming she has skills of some sort, they are likely in the best scenario to assume she is a God Blooded, a product of a mortal laying with a minor deity and blessed with extraordinary prowess, though as seen their immediate assumption is that she is a mutant or, worse, one of the fair folk seeking access to the town in order to reap their souls.
The town ealdorwoman has a Resolve of 3, 1 lower than Final Iron Skies Appearance, she thus gets a +1 bonus. She is also spending a Temporary Willpower, lowing her pool from 5 to 4 for a bonus success.
Final Iron Skies rolls Charisma (2) + Presence (0) + Appearance Bonus (1) = 3 dice
8 1 1
1 Successes +1 Success from Willpower, Willpower now at 4/5
2 Successes fails to beat the ealdorwoman's resolve of 3.
The woman atop the walls looks watches, narrowing her eyes slightly, but seem unmoved, the townsfolk surrounding her still tugging at hide armour as they try to finish getting into it, adjusting helmets, readying bows. She falls silent for long moments, then. "Or you are a lying beggar, perhaps even some agent seeking egress to our homes. If you have such skills why are you arriving here in torn clothes, alone and bereft of gear, as the cold season encroaches?"
Final Iron Skies is... Not happy at this answer. She meant what she said, she tried as hard as she could to get that across! She flares out her wings, feathers huge to each side of her, hand shifting it's grip upon her spear.
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Solars are cursed, whilst they did rule over a glorious golden age before being overthrown, they are also tainted by madness, the final strike launched against them by the creators of the gods before their imprisonment. There is something that causes this to trigger in Final Iron Skies, what it is?
[] If she is insulted, belittled or deliberately frustrated.
[] If she tells a lie, deliberately deceives someone, or breaks a sworn oath.
[] If she sees innocents suffering and is either unable or unwilling to help them.
[] If she is hindered or defeated by the self indulgent behaviour of those around her.
[] If her allies suffer a defeat of setback due to her own mistakes.
Violation of her Major or Defining intimacies can also help trigger her Great Curse.
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Regardless of if this response pushes her toward a bought of madness she does still need to respond.
Does she:
[] Offer to defeat whatever threat might be facing the settlement as proof of her prowess, be this fae marauders, the undead or a raiding tribe.
[] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
[] Prove her power by forcing her way into the town, fighting with the blunt end of her spear and avoiding seriously injuring anyone. If she puts down a dozen warriors without having to hurt them that will surely prove her a person worthy of consideration.
[] Just leave. These people are not worth her time.
Ultramandalore
Errant Quester
- Location
- just south of Parts Unknown
[X] If she is hindered or defeated by the self indulgent behaviour of those around her.
[X] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
[X] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
Limit break becomes more dangerous the stronger you get but as you get stronger your unlikely to make as many mistakes.
[X] If her allies suffer a defeat of setback due to her own mistakes.
[X] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
[X] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
[X] If she sees innocents suffering and is either unable or unwilling to help them.
[X] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
[X] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
Limit Break Condition:
[X] If she sees innocents suffering and is either unable or unwilling to help them.
Decision:
[X] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
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Final Iron Skies takes a deep breath, closes her eyes a moment, exhales even as her wings incrementally slump – she is not good when it comes to hiding body language. She hesitates then when it comes to answering the ealdorwoman's question, searching the older woman's weather lined face fails to tell her anything, she cannot read her.
"I was attacked!" She fails to sound entirely convincing there and from the expressions atop the wall people know she is prevaricating, a muttering, a further awkward pause from her. Then. "Let me speak to one of your healers. They will know the proof of my claims, then I will aid them without charge provided you let me through the gate. Just food and lodging?" The last part, hopeful but likely increasingly desperate. Bargaining is not Final Iron Skies' forte.
"Done." The ealdorwoman makes a sharp motion with one leather gauntlet clad hand. "Let her in but keep an eye on her sergeant." This to a heavyset and prodigiously bearded man in a battered cuirass over mail at her side. Then back out over the wall. "You'll have to leave your spear and those darts in the guardhouse!" Final Iron Skies does tense her hand around the haft of her spear there, an incremental flare of wings, angling them as if poising in the air each side of her. The older woman follows up. "I will stand assurance you get them back. The weapons will stand assurance you do not do anything stupid in our town. Welcome to Quelddar."
Not everyone on the wall looks happy about this but most seem glad that the situation was resolved, tugging off helmets and stomping back off the palisade walkway, a few shooting dubious glares toward the winged woman. The gate is unbarred and eased open however before a handful of mail armoured guards tromp out through the torned up and trampled snow of the path.
Reluctantly, Final Iron Skies hands over her spear and the leather leg harness bearing her throwing darts, though she still has her iron belt knife. Whilst unhappy about this? She notes the way the men and women move, how they hold their weapons. They are at best competent and she is pretty sure she could have handled a squad of them using only her dagger even before her Second Breath.
That does not mean she has to like it though and the combination of ugly or lusting looks some of them give her as she steps in through the gate do not help matters, neither does the small crowd of random onlookers and stepped down militia who gather to stare at her. The population look prosperous enough, less heavily wrapped than the tribesfolk or other denizens of the northern edge of Creation who Final Iron Skies has more experience with. Three of what looks to be full time members of the town guard escort her through the streets, which apparently wards away most people from getting closer.
There is one 'incident' though as a cluster of children, aged ten or so, trail behind the little group, one boy darting in to touch the feathers of Final Iron Skies' wing before yelping and rushing back to be congratulated by his friends. She gives a reflexive snap of her pinions... Then grins, relaxing slightly, though one of the guards looks for a moment as if she half suspects the child will be eaten in response.
Final Iron Skies refrains from eating the child, but does tuck her wings in a little closer as she continues through the town, finally being brought to a well appointed residence just off what looks to be the town stare. The sergeant leading the group raps his knuckles on the door, then waits, glancing to her as he does so, looking her up and down a moment.
"So. What do we call you? Also you said attacked. Something we should be worried about?"
[] Try to lie – make up a random name, say it was bandits.
[] Tell the full truth, give her name, say that she was exiled from the (legendary) city of Sezakan.
[] Tell some of the truth. Give her name but decline to explain or just state that it happened a very long away away.
Final Iron Skies does have reason to believe she is fairly famous. There was the time she slew the demon that was menacing the Green Lake tribe only a hundred miles from here, or the occasion she faced down those forty bandits and slew half their number before taking the eye of their god blooded champion.
This could be good or bad if she gives her full name, on the other hand she is truly awful at lying. Claiming to be from Sezakan may be regarded as a tall tale though and admitting to exile does not place her in a good light.
[X] If she sees innocents suffering and is either unable or unwilling to help them.
Decision:
[X] Offer her services as a physician free of charge to whomever might require her aid, if she is given food and lodging.
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Final Iron Skies takes a deep breath, closes her eyes a moment, exhales even as her wings incrementally slump – she is not good when it comes to hiding body language. She hesitates then when it comes to answering the ealdorwoman's question, searching the older woman's weather lined face fails to tell her anything, she cannot read her.
"I was attacked!" She fails to sound entirely convincing there and from the expressions atop the wall people know she is prevaricating, a muttering, a further awkward pause from her. Then. "Let me speak to one of your healers. They will know the proof of my claims, then I will aid them without charge provided you let me through the gate. Just food and lodging?" The last part, hopeful but likely increasingly desperate. Bargaining is not Final Iron Skies' forte.
"Done." The ealdorwoman makes a sharp motion with one leather gauntlet clad hand. "Let her in but keep an eye on her sergeant." This to a heavyset and prodigiously bearded man in a battered cuirass over mail at her side. Then back out over the wall. "You'll have to leave your spear and those darts in the guardhouse!" Final Iron Skies does tense her hand around the haft of her spear there, an incremental flare of wings, angling them as if poising in the air each side of her. The older woman follows up. "I will stand assurance you get them back. The weapons will stand assurance you do not do anything stupid in our town. Welcome to Quelddar."
Not everyone on the wall looks happy about this but most seem glad that the situation was resolved, tugging off helmets and stomping back off the palisade walkway, a few shooting dubious glares toward the winged woman. The gate is unbarred and eased open however before a handful of mail armoured guards tromp out through the torned up and trampled snow of the path.
Reluctantly, Final Iron Skies hands over her spear and the leather leg harness bearing her throwing darts, though she still has her iron belt knife. Whilst unhappy about this? She notes the way the men and women move, how they hold their weapons. They are at best competent and she is pretty sure she could have handled a squad of them using only her dagger even before her Second Breath.
That does not mean she has to like it though and the combination of ugly or lusting looks some of them give her as she steps in through the gate do not help matters, neither does the small crowd of random onlookers and stepped down militia who gather to stare at her. The population look prosperous enough, less heavily wrapped than the tribesfolk or other denizens of the northern edge of Creation who Final Iron Skies has more experience with. Three of what looks to be full time members of the town guard escort her through the streets, which apparently wards away most people from getting closer.
There is one 'incident' though as a cluster of children, aged ten or so, trail behind the little group, one boy darting in to touch the feathers of Final Iron Skies' wing before yelping and rushing back to be congratulated by his friends. She gives a reflexive snap of her pinions... Then grins, relaxing slightly, though one of the guards looks for a moment as if she half suspects the child will be eaten in response.
Final Iron Skies refrains from eating the child, but does tuck her wings in a little closer as she continues through the town, finally being brought to a well appointed residence just off what looks to be the town stare. The sergeant leading the group raps his knuckles on the door, then waits, glancing to her as he does so, looking her up and down a moment.
"So. What do we call you? Also you said attacked. Something we should be worried about?"
[] Try to lie – make up a random name, say it was bandits.
[] Tell the full truth, give her name, say that she was exiled from the (legendary) city of Sezakan.
[] Tell some of the truth. Give her name but decline to explain or just state that it happened a very long away away.
Final Iron Skies does have reason to believe she is fairly famous. There was the time she slew the demon that was menacing the Green Lake tribe only a hundred miles from here, or the occasion she faced down those forty bandits and slew half their number before taking the eye of their god blooded champion.
This could be good or bad if she gives her full name, on the other hand she is truly awful at lying. Claiming to be from Sezakan may be regarded as a tall tale though and admitting to exile does not place her in a good light.
Ultramandalore
Errant Quester
- Location
- just south of Parts Unknown
[X] Tell some of the truth. Give her name but decline to explain or just state that it happened a very long away away.
[X] Tell some of the truth. Give her name but decline to explain or just state that it happened a very long away away.
Our wings are distinctive enough that we can't hide what we are if people decide to track us down. Our skill and motivation means that we will be unwilling or unable to hide the fact that we are a skilled warrior.
Our wings are distinctive enough that we can't hide what we are if people decide to track us down. Our skill and motivation means that we will be unwilling or unable to hide the fact that we are a skilled warrior.
The reputation of the combat capable heroic mortal that we were isn't any more distinctive then our wings and given we apparently fought to protect people it is a good one. More then that we've given up a lot but I don't want to give up our name.
If we can arrange for a way to gain disguise charms I would be happy to pretend to be a Dragonblood.