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General Exalted Thread

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I guess what I was trying to say that I don't think there's any faction in Lookshy that would be anti-imperialist on the basis of ethics. Isolationist, sure. Anti-interventionism, sure, but ethically opposed to imperialism? That's the kind of thinking that feels more modern than necessarily appropriate.
 
Maugan Ra said:
For example, I tend to read more into the anti-Realm sentiment in Lookshy than might actually be there, to the point where it motivates a lot of their official foreign policy. Why do they work with the Confederation of Rivers rather than try and oppress and conquer them? Because being all Imperialist is what the Realm would do, and they have a kind of reflexive instinct against that.

Think the US/Soviet philosophical divide and how it shaped a lot of their foreign policy, for example. I guarantee that Lookshy has gotten involved in some minor nation's civil war at some point because the opposing side has stronger ties to one of the Great Houses or something.
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Yeah, that's why when Soviet Union tried to bring smaller countries into its sphere of influence and directly meddle in their politics, the US suddenly became allergic to doing that. :V

Lookshy is very anti-Realm, but that's because the Realm is their only serious existential threat. Ma-Ha-Suchi is an ongoing concern and Thorns is a new and worrying development, but the Realm is the only power in the East – possibly in all of Creation – that's ever hammered on Lookshy's doors. If Lookshy didn't have a cache of WMDs, the Scarlet Empress would already have reduced it to a glass crater. Lookshy's entire structure has, over the course of the last 700 years, pivoted around the fact that the Hundred Kingdoms needs them to keep the Realm out. That means aggressively pushing the necessity of keeping the Realm out, and accepting whatever philosophical compromises come with that need.

This doesn't mean that Lookshy rejects imperialism, though it might frame certain policies that way on the understanding that "imperialism" = "Realm influence".

If not for the sharp and many-angled limits on Lookshy's own ability to freely mobilize, it would be busily conquering the Confederation of Rivers, and all but the most starry-eyed of their constituent states understand that. Instead it's just adopted a different model of imperialism, better-suited to Cold War America rather than Imperial Britain. It sends in "military advisors". It engages in "armed interventions" to keep the peace within the Hundred Kingdoms. It strongarms its neighbours into adopting aggressive anti-Realm policies, and they're forced to call on them for help dealing with the ensuing retaliation.

And it's a careful game of knowing how far they can push it without replacing the Realm as the local bogeyman, or exposing just how much they rely on their handful of Shogunate flying vehicles to effectively project force and maintain their territories, or giving away their dire need for certain resources at the negotiating table.
 
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Has anyone updated TAW for 3E at all? I know there was a 3e fan update to base lunars that looked good, so any others that are also functional?

Also advice for stunting/flavoring the Attribute focus of Lunars well? I enjoy the ideas of come at things a bit off kilter compared to normal(Solars), but my mind has a tendency to wind itself in loops where I am not sure if what I am thinking IS a good idea, or I just somehow convinced myself it is.
 
Remember in the end, both the Realm and Lookshy are remnants of the old Shogunate with all the manifest destiny and mandate of the dragons mixed in that.
 
Speaking of 3E, apparently the first book that's moving forward (well out of second draft) is 'Arms of the Chosen' which moved forward in the development process. 'The Realm' and Dragon blooded are still in Second draft though.
 
Was thinking about WoD to Exalted transitions.

And I was thinking about Lunars. One thought is how to make their charm tech distinct but satisfying. One was that they are more freefrom. They don't have treeds so much as webs with the occassional advanced trick. the other was putting in limitations and drawbacks based on conditions of form and location.

I have some example ideas if interesting.
 
Bel said:
Speaking of 3E, apparently the first book that's moving forward (well out of second draft) is 'Arms of the Chosen' which moved forward in the development process. 'The Realm' and Dragon blooded are still in Second draft though.
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Huh. That's... actually pretty useful. I'm always a sucker for equipment books.
 
Darmani said:
Was thinking about WoD to Exalted transitions.

And I was thinking about Lunars. One thought is how to make their charm tech distinct but satisfying. One was that they are more freefrom. They don't have treeds so much as webs with the occassional advanced trick. the other was putting in limitations and drawbacks based on conditions of form and location.

I have some example ideas if interesting.
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I can't really say if this would be interesting from what you describe. It'd certainly be tricky to do well, and not end up with a confusing mess for players. Please, go on.
 
how long does it take for a mortal to master a terrestrial martial art?

And compared to modern earth, how useful are the terrestrial martial arts and sorcery?
 
Accelerator said:
how long does it take for a mortal to master a terrestrial martial art?

And compared to modern earth, how useful are the terrestrial martial arts and sorcery?
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I'm... not sure what you mean by the second statement.

By the first, assuming they meet all prerequisites (which means we're looking at 2e here, no Kerisgame hacks):

Let's not take White Veil Style for our example, since it doesn't exist. According to Scroll of the Monk, it does not consist of 8 Charms in total. Scroll of Heroes (why are you making me look at these books) tells us that a Martial Arts Charm requires (Minimum Ability) weeks for a mortal who favours Martial Arts to learn it.

I will assume your hypothetical mortal has Martial Arts favoured. :V

So! If White Veil Style existed, it would have Birdsong Over Blades (Martial Arts 3), Alehouse Memory Stance (3), Owl Clutches At The Night (4), White Veil Form (4), Blinded By Laughter (5), The Dragon Dies In Bed (5), The Dragon Dies Screaming (5), and The Dragon Succumbs (5).

3+3+4+4+5+5+5+5 weeks, making 34 weeks in total- keeping in mind that years in Creation are 60 weeks, that's a little over half a Creation Year.

This is, of course, assuming that you are already at Martial Arts 5 and Essence 3 and have all the required experience already. If not, it will take years to accumulate the required skill, enlighten your Essence to the needed levels, and learn the Charms.

And, of course, it would require White Veil Style to exist.

Which it does not, obviously. :V
 
horngeek said:
I'm... not sure what you mean by the second statement.

By the first, assuming they meet all prerequisites (which means we're looking at 2e here, no Kerisgame hacks):

Let's not take White Veil Style for our example, since it doesn't exist. According to Scroll of the Monk, it does not consist of 8 Charms in total. Scroll of Heroes (why are you making me look at these books) tells us that a Martial Arts Charm requires (Minimum Ability) weeks for a mortal who favours Martial Arts to learn it.

I will assume your hypothetical mortal has Martial Arts favoured. :V

So! If White Veil Style existed, it would have Birdsong Over Blades (Martial Arts 3), Alehouse Memory Stance (3), Owl Clutches At The Night (4), White Veil Form (4), Blinded By Laughter (5), The Dragon Dies In Bed (5), The Dragon Dies Screaming (5), and The Dragon Succumbs (5).

3+3+4+4+5+5+5+5 weeks, making 34 weeks in total- keeping in mind that years in Creation are 60 weeks, that's a little over half a Creation Year.

This is, of course, assuming that you are already at Martial Arts 5 and Essence 3 and have all the required experience already. If not, it will take years to accumulate the required skill, enlighten your Essence to the needed levels, and learn the Charms.

And, of course, it would require White Veil Style to exist.

Which it does not, obviously. :V
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Oh..... sorry.

I meant, say, Essence 3, Martial arts 5, Mortal, with a terrestrial martial art and sorcery.

He is dropped onto Earth.

What is he worth? one man? One platoon? An army? A regiment? A tank?

What can he do?
 
Accelerator said:
Oh..... sorry.

I meant, say, Essence 3, Martial arts 5, Mortal, with a terrestrial martial art and sorcery.

He is dropped onto Earth.

What is he worth? one man? One platoon? An army? A regiment? A tank?

What can he do?
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Quite a lot... and not as much as you might think.

Terrestrial Martial Artists are the kind of people who can fairly consistently demolish small buildings with concerted effort, among other feats. Sorcery itself, depending on which edition you allow, can be a slightly limited toolbox or a broadly open one. The problem with Sorcery is that it almost invariably requires a ritual component that simply cannot happen outside of Creation. Like, some spells require materials that do not exist. (There are very few of those however).

The two big questions though are this: do you allow Elemental or Demon Summoning? In either case, you have a ridiculous force multiplier.

In context of the 'historical warfare' terms; a single sorcerer is essentially a kind of Artillery Platform.
 
Shyft said:
Quite a lot... and not as much as you might think.

Terrestrial Martial Artists are the kind of people who can fairly consistently demolish small buildings with concerted effort, among other feats. Sorcery itself, depending on which edition you allow, can be a slightly limited toolbox or a broadly open one. The problem with Sorcery is that it almost invariably requires a ritual component that simply cannot happen outside of Creation. Like, some spells require materials that do not exist. (There are very few of those however).

The two big questions though are this: do you allow Elemental or Demon Summoning? In either case, you have a ridiculous force multiplier.

In context of the 'historical warfare' terms; a single sorcerer is essentially a kind of Artillery Platform.
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Obsidian butterflies?
 
Accelerator said:
Isn't it one of the examples of needing no materials?
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Well, yeah, but in modern-day Earth, grapefruit cannons aren't really that special. Keep in mind that Sorcery is 1) obvious when being cast, 2) under 2e rules, requires that you stand still when casting-

And finally, if it's interrupted, there's a non-zero chance the thing blows up in your face.
 
horngeek said:
Well, yeah, but in modern-day Earth, grapefruit cannons aren't really that special. Keep in mind that Sorcery is 1) obvious when being cast, 2) under 2e rules, requires that you stand still when casting-

And finally, if it's interrupted, there's a non-zero chance the thing blows up in your face.
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oh, fine then.

So terrestrial martial arts can let you punch down buildings....

What about durability and speed?
 
Depends On The Martial Art- but if you're asking 'can a Terrestrial Martial Artist reasonably expect to take down a company of soldiers'-

No. No, he cannot. I suspect a squad of well-trained modern military personell would win against a Terrestrial Martial Artist almost every time, but that's just from eyeballing. IIRC, there are very few Charms in the Martial Arts trees that actually increase your ability to take hits.
 
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