Oh boy, an excuse to rant about the Dragon-Blooded? Thank you. Man where to even start?
The thing is, I can't really bring myself to ignore it, because its not just Charms being limited in dumb ways (I think most of the magic vulnerabilities we fixed or reduced in severity in errata, anyway) or other minor flaws and points of illogic. My problem is that I feel that the fundamental premise and purpose of the Dragon-Blooded as a part of the setting, from both an in and out of universe perspective, is flawed and restricted to the point of disrupting its own themes.
The most significant example of this, and the source from which the majority of the other flaws stem, is that unlike the other forms of Exalts, the Dragon-Blooded were not design with a post-Primordial War purpose in mind for them to fulfill. Each Caste of Celestials had a role that they were designed to fulfill in the world after the war, which they would carry out within the context of the general purpose that each Exalt type would fulfill. Dawns were generals and champions, Zeniths were kings and priests, Twilights were scholars and craftsmen, Nights were spies and assassins, and Eclipses were bureaucrats and diplomats; the Lunars and the Sidereals had there own purposes for each of their castes. Beyond that, the Solars were the Lawgivers, the Lunars were the Stewards, and the Sidereals were the Viziers. The Dragon-Blooded were created to be the soldiers, servants, and lackeys of the Celestial Host, and after the war, they remained the soldiers, servants, and lackeys of the Celestial Host. They had no purpose of there own, there was only acting in service and support of the Celestials. In Lords of Creation, it said that the Dragon-Blooded Gentes basically just permanently served specific Celestial Exaltations -- not even specific Exalts, but all the bearers of the same Exaltation -- and did this for generation upon generation without any indication of independence or shifting loyalties or location. They neither provided any service or benefit to Creation nor possessed any greater purpose beyond their service to the Celestials or to act as the weapons and soldiers that all Exalted were made to be.
This concept, which permeates everything about the Dragon-Blooded in fluff and is the core of their very existence as a part of the setting, is something that I feel is intrinsically toxic to the idea of the Dragon-Blooded being capable of benefiting Creation and the idea of the Dragon-Blooded being heroes in their own right. Because it declares that they aren't heroes, not even just smaller ones than the Celestials; it brands them as jumped-up sidekicks and nothing more. They have nothing to contribute, and are therefore unnecessary to Creation, and it might be better for everyone if they all just died out. The Celestials could just make servants and soldiers that could be just as good, if not better, after all. :\
From this toxic concept, Dragon-Blooded themes and adventures pursue ideas that are only sustainable if the status quo and balance of powers within Creation is maintained, or that are not truly supported by the powers and inherent capabilities that the Dragon-Blooded have at their disposal, and only weakly support the themes of Exalted as a whole.
Cooperation and overcoming great obstacles through numbers and teamwork? The Great Houses of the Realm are constantly at each others throats, Lookshy is ranges from insular to domineering of others, and Outcastes are few and scatter across the world; furthermore, the vast majority of Cooperative Charms or that otherwise let Dragon-Blooded combined their powers for greater effects are in some way related to combat, with few it any utilitarian applications (why are there no Medicine Cooperative Charms, for example.); Terrestrial (Ability) Reinforcement is limited and worse, unintuitive, and going by the characters in the Scroll of Exalts Terrestrials only use it for combat Abilities if they use it at all
To be honest, a minor fanon that I read is that the Dragonblooded didn't get the normal curse like other exalts.
The curse they got was the desire to increase their own glory, causing them to backstab each other in contrast with their powers of teamwork. Which is why when a few hundred dragonblooded gather next to each other, they start stabbing each other in the back. And so the greatest strength of the dragonblooded, unity and cooperation, was destroyed.
Though I agree on the lack of cooperative charms. There should be more cooperative charms in medicine and crafting. And a social charm that lets them affect spirits.
Maybe a cooperative medicine charm, which involves them standing in a circle? And then in a wide radius around them, people start to experience increased healing? Or maye by cooperative effort between many, many terrestrials, they are able to heal crippling injuries? And maybe boost up the excellency so its better for boosting? And maybe a speed booster dependent on lineage, breeding, and number of dragonblooded partners?
The mistakes are things like "Paragon is in a trade war with Gem, despite both of them being single-city states thousands of miles apart," but all you have to do there is drop the trade war. They're still city-states with thousands of miles between them where you can write in whatever homebrew nations you like.
Their solution always struck me as weird, because Paragon being in a trade war with Gem is actually really valuable from a GM standpoint. If I'm running a game set in either city, I have a ready plot hook with a pretty substantial amount of backing to it, because there's already a writeup of the other city. It lets my table get a little bit more autonomy, because they can plausibly travel to the other city, meet some new NPCs and experience the other side of the conflict, and I don't need to do much work to facilitate it.
The alternative is that I, as the GM, need to write up some homebrew nation, but... the reason I buy these books is to that I don't have to do that, because homebrewing nations takes time and energy and is often kind of hit-or-miss. The only real advantage of having everything so far apart, aside from possibly making it easier to justify Realm/Sidereal/Elder/etc. involvement in any given location, is that it leaves more room for homebrewing, but I would want considerably more support for some kind of "here's how you quickly and easily make interesting Exalted content, GMs" (as Godbound sort of does, although not in enough depth or Exaltedyness to be that helpful here) walkthrough to be satisfied there.
It's really too bad, because that to the games writing has literally ruined games for me, as GMs had no real idea how to scale the campaign as we took over a city and then... didn't do that much, as the GM couldn't come up with compelling threats until she eventually just threw an Underworld invasion at us and the game fell apart.
To be honest, a minor fanon that I read is that the Dragonblooded didn't get the normal curse like other exalts.
The curse they got was the desire to increase their own glory, causing them to backstab each other in contrast with their powers of teamwork. Which is why when a few hundred dragonblooded gather next to each other, they start stabbing each other in the back. And so the greatest strength of the dragonblooded, unity and cooperation, was destroyed.
Though I agree on the lack of cooperative charms. There should be more cooperative charms in medicine and crafting. And a social charm that lets them affect spirits.
Maybe a cooperative medicine charm, which involves them standing in a circle? And then in a wide radius around them, people start to experience increased healing? Or maye by cooperative effort between many, many terrestrials, they are able to heal crippling injuries? And maybe boost up the excellency so its better for boosting? And maybe a speed booster dependent on lineage, breeding, and number of dragonblooded partners?
I actually wouldn't like this. Beyond the excessive emphasis on combat, I dislike how Cooperative Charms are handled because they only gain greater power when used with other Dragon-Blooded, and seem to be the sum total of their "cooperation" theme. They should be able to draw power from and give power to a wide variety of potential targets; the Jadeborn, the Dragon Kings, some braver Gods, and possibly some mortals (they'd want to have potential new hosts for Celestial Exaltations on stand by, at least) fought in the Primordial War alongside the Exalted Host, so I don't see why Dragon-Blooded should be limited to enhancing and being enhanced by only other Dragon-Blooded.
I'd rather have Cooperation be a theme of the Dragon-Blooded instead of just a keyword.
Their solution always struck me as weird, because Paragon being in a trade war with Gem is actually really valuable from a GM standpoint. If I'm running a game set in either city, I have a ready plot hook with a pretty substantial amount of backing to it, because there's already a writeup of the other city. It lets my table get a little bit more autonomy, because they can plausibly travel to the other city, meet some new NPCs and experience the other side of the conflict, and I don't need to do much work to facilitate it.
The alternative is that I, as the GM, need to write up some homebrew nation, but... the reason I buy these books is to that I don't have to do that, because homebrewing nations takes time and energy and is often kind of hit-or-miss. The only real advantage of having everything so far apart, aside from possibly making it easier to justify Realm/Sidereal/Elder/etc. involvement in any given location, is that it leaves more room for homebrewing, but I would want considerably more support for some kind of "here's how you quickly and easily make interesting Exalted content, GMs" (as Godbound sort of does, although not in enough depth or Exaltedyness to be that helpful here) walkthrough to be satisfied there.
It's really too bad, because that to the games writing has literally ruined games for me, as GMs had no real idea how to scale the campaign as we took over a city and then... didn't do that much, as the GM couldn't come up with compelling threats until she eventually just threw an Underworld invasion at us and the game fell apart.
Those who follow my adventures in homebrew will know that I write a lot of locales that are basically a city-state in term of organization and influence, and one of the most difficult things to do every time is that if I don't want the locale to be plopped down into a featureless wasteland that has abstracts "roads to somewhere," I have to effectively homebrew several more locales to scatter around the original place to give it relationships and external dynamics.
Call it the SimCity Factor. You can lovingly hand-craft the city of your dreams, but at the end of the day when you zoom out you realize that this extensive and storied city fades into fog at the edges, with highways pretending to go somewhere that doesn't exist. If you want it to feel real, you have to put in the work to draw at least the blurry outlines of several more cities.
The problem isn't just that it's more work - it's that it's not what you set out to do in the first place. You have a strong compelling hook for the original locale, but for the others you have to wrack your brain to come up with an interesting blurb.
And then your readers, these little bastards, are like "hey the Snow Dragon's Empire sounds pretty interesting, could you write more about it?" Damned vampires
The mistakes are things like "Paragon is in a trade war with Gem, despite both of them being single-city states thousands of miles apart," but all you have to do there is drop the trade war.
They're still city-states with thousands of miles between them where you can write in whatever homebrew nations you like.
It sort of works if you interpret it as "They are being pitted against each other by outside forces that know neither of them can harm the other in a significant way".
Their solution always struck me as weird, because Paragon being in a trade war with Gem is actually really valuable from a GM standpoint. If I'm running a game set in either city, I have a ready plot hook with a pretty substantial amount of backing to it, because there's already a writeup of the other city. It lets my table get a little bit more autonomy, because they can plausibly travel to the other city, meet some new NPCs and experience the other side of the conflict, and I don't need to do much work to facilitate it.
You don't have to drop all relations Gem has with other areas. What you'd need to do is rework their relations to be more regional ones, which might involve detailing the region itself more, but that's good. You establish "this is the area around Gem", but there are still plenty of space outside of that. And Paragon is in a region with a bunch of other external actors, so it wouldn't be hard for them. Gem might be more difficult, but they seem ripe for something focusing more on Internal threats, plus if you chose there's the numerous actors working on destroying Gem.
Oh boy, an excuse to rant about the Dragon-Blooded? Thank you. Man where to even start?
The thing is, I can't really bring myself to ignore it, because its not just Charms being limited in dumb ways (I think most of the magic vulnerabilities we fixed or reduced in severity in errata, anyway) or other minor flaws and points of illogic. My problem is that I feel that the fundamental premise and purpose of the Dragon-Blooded as a part of the setting, from both an in and out of universe perspective, is flawed and restricted to the point of disrupting its own themes.
The most significant example of this, and the source from which the majority of the other flaws stem, is that unlike the other forms of Exalts, the Dragon-Blooded were not design with a post-Primordial War purpose in mind for them to fulfill. Each Caste of Celestials had a role that they were designed to fulfill in the world after the war, which they would carry out within the context of the general purpose that each Exalt type would fulfill. Dawns were generals and champions, Zeniths were kings and priests, Twilights were scholars and craftsmen, Nights were spies and assassins, and Eclipses were bureaucrats and diplomats; the Lunars and the Sidereals had there own purposes for each of their castes. Beyond that, the Solars were the Lawgivers, the Lunars were the Stewards, and the Sidereals were the Viziers. The Dragon-Blooded were created to be the soldiers, servants, and lackeys of the Celestial Host, and after the war, they remained the soldiers, servants, and lackeys of the Celestial Host. They had no purpose of there own, there was only acting in service and support of the Celestials. In Lords of Creation, it said that the Dragon-Blooded Gentes basically just permanently served specific Celestial Exaltations -- not even specific Exalts, but all the bearers of the same Exaltation -- and did this for generation upon generation without any indication of independence or shifting loyalties or location. They neither provided any service or benefit to Creation nor possessed any greater purpose beyond their service to the Celestials or to act as the weapons and soldiers that all Exalted were made to be.
This concept, which permeates everything about the Dragon-Blooded in fluff and is the core of their very existence as a part of the setting, is something that I feel is intrinsically toxic to the idea of the Dragon-Blooded being capable of benefiting Creation and the idea of the Dragon-Blooded being heroes in their own right. Because it declares that they aren't heroes, not even just smaller ones than the Celestials; it brands them as jumped-up sidekicks and nothing more. They have nothing to contribute, and are therefore unnecessary to Creation, and it might be better for everyone if they all just died out. The Celestials could just make servants and soldiers that could be just as good, if not better, after all. :\
Um, what? The Dragonblooded served the Solars, yes, but the might of the Solars had a lot to do with the fact that the Dragonblooded existed. The navy was strong, not simply because they had Solars and Lunars as Admirals, but because they had hosts of Dragonblooded officers able to combat threats as well. This is like saying that the only people who serve the United states in the Army are the Generals. After all, the rank and file soldiers and lesser officers just serve them.
Um, what? The Dragonblooded served the Solars, yes, but the might of the Solars had a lot to do with the fact that the Dragonblooded existed. The navy was strong, not simply because they had Solars and Lunars as Admirals, but because they had hosts of Dragonblooded officers able to combat threats as well. This is like saying that the only people who serve the United states in the Army are the Generals. After all, the rank and file soldiers and lesser officers just serve them.
Ideally, that's how it would work. However, the Solars could and did make new servants who were also capable of filling in the rank and file of the Old Realm's armies and navies; the People of the Sea took pride in their tradition of fighting back the Wyld. The Solars create weapons and tools that let mortals fight on the scale of Exalted combat, and there were a lot more mortals than Dragon-Blooded; plus, if there ever weren't enough, the Solars could literally just go make more. The Solars did not need the Dragon-Blooded. Had they interbred themselves out of existence, the Solars would have been able to find a way to pick up the slack.
Regardless, this does not dispute my point of "the contributions of the Dragon-Blooded to Creation were based entirely around their service to the Celestial Exalted."
You don't have to drop all relations Gem has with other areas. What you'd need to do is rework their relations to be more regional ones, which might involve detailing the region itself more, but that's good. You establish "this is the area around Gem", but there are still plenty of space outside of that. And Paragon is in a region with a bunch of other external actors, so it wouldn't be hard for them. Gem might be more difficult, but they seem ripe for something focusing more on Internal threats, plus if you chose there's the numerous actors working on destroying Gem.
Which is why the South West is so great. You've got An Teng as probably one of the best area write-ups that Exalted has had, which gives you strong bouncing-off material for expanding the area. An Teng itself has links to the area around it, but also crucially has a very strong story as "the place the Dynasts use as a holiday place and do Dynastic things there, but the Tengese are socially conservative and have issues with how Realm people act".
Ideally, that's how it would work. However, the Solars could and did make new servants who were also capable of filling in the rank and file of the Old Realm's armies and navies; the People of the Sea took pride in their tradition of fighting back the Wyld. The Solars create weapons and tools that let mortals fight on the scale of Exalted combat, and there were a lot more mortals than Dragon-Blooded; plus, if there ever weren't enough, the Solars could literally just go make more. The Solars did not need the Dragon-Blooded.
They certainly did. Tiger Warriors cannot replace Dragonblooded. Godblooded cannot do what Dynasts do in running organisations.
People of the Sea are no replacement at all for DBs at basically anything you care to mention. Bits of the line which claim otherwise are bullshit. People of the Sea are mortals with a gill mutation - little more. And no, even Gunzosha cannot fight at an Exalted level. A Gunzosha Tiger Warrior will lose to a starting combat-specced DB.
The Solars were murdered because they had the delusion that they didn't need their officer caste and their management caste. As it turned out, no, the DBs needed the support of the Solars much less than the Solars needed the support of the DBs.
Y'know, fuckit, lemme roll with the "Creation be huge" concept and see if I can justify it.
If we assume that the world is huge af, then in order for continent-spanning regimes like the Realm or Lookshy to function to be at least a few methods of reliable long-distance communication and transportation, both of goods and people. In other words, we need:
a) reliable methods of long-distance transportation, both over land and sea (since otherwise the Realm itself would take years to traverse by land,
b) reliable methods of food production, sufficient to feed large cities and to justify large-scale transportation networks. @100thlurker's point re Realm rice has most of this covered.
c) reliable methods of food preservation, at least long enough to move goods from vast hinterlands into the cities that rely on them,
d) reliable methods of long-distance communication, sufficient at least to coordinate an area as vast as the Realm itself.
e) effective short-distance distribution networks, including ship-to-shore capability (i.e. rapid loading/unloading) and short-distance hauling (i.e. a truck equivalent).
When moving lots of cargo long distances, the first go-to would of course be sailing ships. I'm thinking Spanish galleons or the classical conception of Zheng He's largest treasure ships, a.k.a. large multi-masted cargo haulers with a full rigging. Historically that's worked out pretty well, but it's also depended pretty heavily on reliable winds: the cross-Atlantic trade winds allowing for the "triangular trade," the seasonal monsoon winds across the Indian Ocean, etc etc etc. And of course, historically the ships themselves would get beat to hell in the process, simply due to natural deterioration of the elements, leaving them clapped out and needing a major overhaul after only a few voyages.
Now let's take all that and add motherfucking magic in this biznatch. Reliable winds? God/elemental bribery plus the occasional Dragonblooded kill-team says yes. I'm thinking strong bilateral currents /and/ winds, running in a roughly circular fashion in the open ocean to allow ships to hop on one end and get whisked around from one port to another - in the areas the Realm's happy with, of course. In areas where the local gods are quiescent and the seas are calm, expect a veritable storm of small haulers moving any bit of cargo or person that'd need hauling at a breakneck pace, courtesy of the friendly(ish) elements. Outside of natural(ish) 'racetracks' that you might see in areas of the Inland Sea, things get a bit more chaotic, and safe travel is much less certain.
The next question: how to travel safely across vast stretches of ocean with minimal aid? If we rely on motherfucking magic for the job, then I'm thinking Sail Charms cast over either a single huge ship or over a smaller fleet. Add in Wood-aspected Dragonblooded capable of maintaining the ships' hulls in rougher seas, plus Air- and Water-Aspected ones quieting the elements, and the end result seems like it'd be either a single monster ship or fleet of various haulers traveling under the aegis of a gaggle of Dragonblooded. Smaller haulers might be able to push on alone and get through, but srsface trade would presumably rely on cooperative Dragonblooded willing to cast variations on 'Sail gud' day after day in exchange for a sizable share of the profit.
The resulting paradigm strikes me as a bit reminiscient of Herbert's Dune series and the titanic FTL-capable heighliners, where a single specialist (the Navigator) would enable long-distance travel for a fleet of smaller ships. Going with that same theme, I'd then expect the Realm to institutionalize the practice of Dragonblood-led trading fleets as a source of both profit and power: with reliable long-distance trade dependent on Dragonbloods, the power with the most control over them and their breeding lines has a major stake in commerce. That being said, I'd also expect to see many Outcaste Dragonbloods serving on fleets out in the Western Ocean, as both security and speed; while the Realm might be able to track the outcastes out there, cracking down on outcastes who're providing a productive service would be counterproductive and likely discouraged.
Assuming that Dragonbloods can maintain, defend, and speed up an entire fleet at a time, I'm imagining them operating effectively as a ferry service on a large flagship or two, with smaller ships joining and leaving at regular intervals to service the many smaller ports along the way. This would allow for the many podunk places adjoining the ocean to still have semi-reliable contact with the outer world, as smaller ships regularly put in to trade with them while still relying on regularly-scheduled "Dragonblood fleets" to ensure rapid transit. Exports would likely still be Realm rice, with imports being raw resources (metals, animal products, etc.), slaves, or various manufactured goods (clothing, tools/weapons, etc.). Fresh water might be another import, with smaller ships regularly putting in to pick up water before distributing it among the bigger fleets. That being said, with Dragonbloods allowing for big ships and rapid(ish) transport there might also be a market for animals themselves being transported or similarly exotic stuff.
Problem being, with distances that vast we're still left with issues of food preservation. Rice keeps well, but what about other foodstuffs - or fresh water for the fleets? Iunno if there are any well-known Charms for addressing that, but I assume that motherfucking magic will be able to solve that problem somehow (any suggestions?).
Finally, we're also left with the issue of long-distance transport over land. In the North and South, there's enough trackless wastes that a similar convoy-like system might be able to function with the help of Dragonbloods, just one relying on sail-powered wheeled transport coupled with favorable winds. In the East, riverine transport would work well enough without the help of motherfucking magic, although I imagine that larger realms like Lookshy would probably attempt to build canals and similar infrastructure to speed things along. Problem being, it's still all slow enough that the colossal geography bogs everything down; a 5-mph boat ride might be fine for transporting grain to market, but it's not great for getting heroes across a ridiculously large map.
Personally, my thought there would be:
(you know you want it)
Smaller airships would be mortal-crewed and reliant on good trade winds to move long-distance. But add in motherfucking magic, and suddenly some colossal aerial monstrosity would be able to move goods and people from Lookshy to the Fire Mountains in a week. It wouldn't be competitive with sailing for sheer volume, but it'd allow for long-distance transport and communication at a decent pace. Much like air travel today, it doesn't supplant the importance of ground or maritime transport, but it does allow for people to get worldwide quickly. I think that adding in magitech railroads would be too much, and having cities be clustered around rivers and oceans seems pretty reasonable anyway, so I figure that should be sufficient.
On the plus side, having transportation dependent on the Dragonbloods also makes them utterly indispensable to Creation's civilization: rather than just lording over peasants by the power of "I know kung fu," they're providing regular services which justify their place as Creation's current top dogs. That being said, Iunno if this concept makes them seem too mundane - anyone with a better concept of Dragonbloods care to weigh in here?
Problem being, with distances that vast we're still left with issues of food preservation. Rice keeps well, but what about other foodstuffs - or fresh water for the fleets? Iunno if there are any well-known Charms for addressing that, but I assume that motherfucking magic will be able to solve that problem somehow (any suggestions?).
I'm a fucking Exalted noob and shit so like, literal pounds of salt here but I'd say that Elementals could do the job pretty well? And that doesn't even necessarily need Sorcerers to handle (although they'd definitely help) but trained mortal thaumaturges might be able to manage since you're not yanking them from Lothric (the Underworld) or London Hell (Malfeas); they naturally occur in the environment and can be canonically induced to appear. Like...you bully a big ice-lizard into hanging out in your cargo hold for a while or a wood...vole (idk) to keep everything verdant and fresh. Nourish it with hearthstones or appropriate Essence so it doesn't croak on the journey over?
I mean there's little ants that can alter the fundamental aspects of metals and minerals, strictly speaking there's probably a few kinds of Elementals that can do what you need.
They certainly did. Tiger Warriors cannot replace Dragonblooded. Godblooded cannot do what Dynasts do in running organisations.
People of the Sea are no replacement at all for DBs at basically anything you care to mention. Bits of the line which claim otherwise are bullshit. People of the Sea are mortals with a gill mutation - little more. And no, even Gunzosha cannot fight at an Exalted level. A Gunzosha Tiger Warrior will lose to a starting combat-specced DB.
The Solars were murdered because they had the delusion that they didn't need their officer caste and their management caste. As it turned out, no, the DBs needed the support of the Solars much less than the Solars needed the support of the DBs.
I just wish that this view was the norm in the fluff, is all. Instead it feels like the more common attitude is "The Dragon-Blooded showed how awesome they can be during the Usurpation, and then they sucked at everything else they ever did, with a side order of being irreversibly watered down and reduced in number after the Contagion and Crusade."
Now let's take all that and add motherfucking magic in this biznatch. Reliable winds? God/elemental bribery plus the occasional Dragonblooded kill-team says yes. I'm thinking strong bilateral currents /and/ winds, running in a roughly circular fashion in the open ocean to allow ships to hop on one end and get whisked around from one port to another - in the areas the Realm's happy with, of course. In areas where the local gods are quiescent and the seas are calm, expect a veritable storm of small haulers moving any bit of cargo or person that'd need hauling at a breakneck pace, courtesy of the friendly(ish) elements. Outside of natural(ish) 'racetracks' that you might see in areas of the Inland Sea, things get a bit more chaotic, and safe travel is much less certain.
Yes, something I've never seen actually described, yet which must exist and must be the single most important piece of infrastructure in creation by far, is the system of trade winds maintained by the Immaculate Order or Realm through extensive negotiation with ocean spirits. It should probably be named, and the bureaucracy in charge of it should be peer to the Treasury, the All-Seeing Eye, etc. in terms of both budget and attention.
Also, easy plot hook for an important mission for DBs or Sidereals.
Finally, we're also left with the issue of long-distance transport over land. In the North and South, there's enough trackless wastes that a similar convoy-like system might be able to function with the help of Dragonbloods, just one relying on sail-powered wheeled transport coupled with favorable winds. In the East, riverine transport would work well enough without the help of motherfucking magic, although I imagine that larger realms like Lookshy would probably attempt to build canals and similar infrastructure to speed things along. Problem being, it's still all slow enough that the colossal geography bogs everything down; a 5-mph boat ride might be fine for transporting grain to market, but it's not great for getting heroes across a ridiculously large map.
One thing that is bizarrely underemphasized about Lookshy is how they control all sea travel to something like fifty percent of the population of Creation. Its caches of First Age weaponry are less valuable than the vast revenues it should earn from even a nominal toll.
Lookshy is like Shanghai, New Orleans, and Antwerp all in one.
edit: argggh now I'm angry again the Lookshy is Magic USA Sparta and not Smugglers and Customs Agents City.
So, inspired partially by @Aleph's Collar of Semastri- and with a lot of help from her, a lot of the ideas here are hers as much as mine:
Little Death Artifact 3, Attune: 5 motes.
An artifact originally made for the purpose of mindfulness and meditation, it is a mark of this fallen Age that Little Death is now most often used for the purposes of smuggling and skullduggery. Woven from Serenity, Secrets and Endings woven into physical form by the arts of the Sidereal Exalted, Little Death is a long sack sized to fit a person in as long as they are not wearing bulky clothing or armour. When a person lies down inside the sack it closes around their entire body in a form-fitting embrace. Another may attune to Little Death for five motes, sealing the sack and binding its occupant. While bound, the following effects apply:
She cannot move, and any sound she makes will not carry outside the artifact. This is more than just the physical restraint of the sack- while it is certainly tight enough to prevent her arms, legs and jaw from moving, the magic of the sack prevents even those attempts.
She cannot see, hear, or smell anything outside Little Death, with the only exception that the attuner can speak and she will hear him- and only him- as if her ears were uncovered. This may negate penalties or even grant bonuses to noticing his voice at the ST's discretion. In addition, any magic that provides a mental link is blocked- with the exception of any link with the attuner.
While thus rendered helpless, all external observation ceases to register her as a living being. Her essence is suppressed, her life signs do not pass beyond the wrapping and even the threads of the Loom are subtly warped to claim that she has met her destined end and is at peace - the same reply they would give for one who has died a natural death and passed through Lethe. Any roll to notice her is treated as if she were under the effects of Easily Overlooked Presence Method (Exalted 2e, Page 230).
Should this be overcome, another obstacle awaits the observant eye. The magic of Little Death mimics objects around it, and any attempt to discern her true nature or identity automatically fails. Around objects of appropriate size and shape, she will be perceived as an object of that type (for example, a rolled-up carpet, a log, or a packed tent). Only upon individual inspection will this Illusion fail, whereupon she will be recognised as a corpse in a bodybag.
She may spend one Willpower to reject the magic keeping her still for a scene- this will enable her to move as much as the physical restraints of the sack allows her, although no sound escapes. Having done so, escape may be attempted from within as a Difficulty 5 roll that must be enhanced by magic and which renders the wearer and her true nature Obvious to onlookers as Little Death announces her rejection of the lie it tells.
Finally, Little Death supplies fresh air to her, even though the sack has no holes through which air could pass through. While it does not suspend her need for food or drink, the attuner may unseal and remove only the hood to allow her to partake- however, this will suspend all of its magical properties, rendering it a purely physical binding.
@Nuts! Really nice post, just two main points. First, lookshy is actually just a regional city state. It has an Anti-Realm Alliance network that extends further, but mainly along a gigantic river, and while it is certainly one of the main powers in the Alliance it has 3 real partners: nexus, great forks, and the Guild.
Secondly, while the Realm has control of much of the world, it generally seems that most of their control is traditionally felt in costal regions or along river networks it can access, so the overland travel can likely be less effective and still allow the Realm. Especially since some of the main exceptions are in food poor areas, and thus the Realm's control over food could be huge.
The critical element for most areas seems to be that the Realm can, if it wishes, send an expaditionary force where ever it wants to, not that it actually enforces it's rule out in the hinterlands as a rule.
Which works with the system they use, where they largely seem to use the nations existing power structures to rule, just adding themselves as another level above whoever rules the area.
Look, as long as it gives me fleets of trading airships that BLOT OUT THE SKY and lets me play sky-pirates I am a-okay with it More seriously though if you're going with that, then airships are probably going to become A Big Big Big Thing Everywhere so you... gotta adjust accordingly?
@Nuts! Really nice post, just two main points. First, lookshy is actually just a regional city state. It has an Anti-Realm Alliance network that extends further, but mainly along a gigantic river, and while it is certainly one of the main powers in the Alliance it has 3 real partners: nexus, great forks, and the Guild.
Secondly, while the Realm has control of much of the world, it generally seems that most of their control is traditionally felt in costal regions or along river networks it can access, so the overland travel can likely be less effective and still allow the Realm. Especially since some of the main exceptions are in food poor areas, and thus the Realm's control over food could be huge.
The critical element for most areas seems to be that the Realm can, if it wishes, send an expaditionary force where ever it wants to, not that it actually enforces it's rule out in the hinterlands as a rule.
Which works with the system they use, where they largely seem to use the nations existing power structures to rule, just adding themselves as another level above whoever rules the area.
Yes, it's an interesting thing to note that pretty much all the canonical Realm satrapies in the South - An Teng, Paragon, Chiascuro, Harbourhead - are true satrapies. They're regions assigned to a provincial governor who manages the existing nations there and makes sure they're paying their tribute.
By contrast, in the North there are more instances of direct rule, like those large slave-using estates that are near Cherak (which occupies a strange position - not exactly a satrapy, but House Ferem as a cadet House is not treated as part of the Metropolitan Realm).
No, that's An Teng. This is Murder Mystery Island.
Like, legitimately, if your DB party decides to take a vacation in An Teng, then you've basically got Cathak Zuko, Cathak Azula, Ledaal Mai and Cynis Ty Lee chilling, playing some beach games, engaging in relationship drama and maaaaaaaaaaaaybe burning down a few houses because people insulted them.
DB games where the characters are young should always provide enough time for the characters to go off to have beach episodes, hot springs episodes, or as my Earth Aspect sorcerer wound up doing, playing strip Gateway with Ledaal Kes.
(Something you should only do if you consider losing to be winning in its own way)
One thing that is bizarrely underemphasized about Lookshy is how they control all sea travel to something like fifty percent of the population of Creation. Its caches of First Age weaponry are less valuable than the vast revenues it should earn from even a nominal toll.
Lookshy is like Shanghai, New Orleans, and Antwerp all in one.
edit: argggh now I'm angry again the Lookshy is Magic USA Sparta and not Smugglers and Customs Agents City.
Really, Lookshy's overwhelming strategic concern shouldn't be the Realm, it should be maintaining the massive brown-water navy it uses to keep the Eastern rivers clear of pirates and to subdue other nations that try to impose river tolls (since every toll imposed downriver hurts their own bottom-line).
This actually gets you back to American Lookshy - the Realm practices traditional extractive imperialism / colonialism, Lookshy practices an American-style imperialism / hegemony of keeping the trade lanes clear and tariffs low (although in this case to support their own tariff revenues). Lookshy probably even spends much of its vast surplus revenue on direct payments to client state governments, in the same way America provides substantial funding to the Egyptian and Pakistani militaries (among others). They probably have a massive shipyards which they can easily supply with lumber shipped from the Eastern forests, and so the analogy becomes even more direct - America wields soft power by exporting subsidized helicopters and fighter jets to client states (which of course make them critically dependent on us for their logistical chain), and Lookshy does the same by exporting or leasing some of the best warships (sometimes even with trained crew!).
(Another, less important point that follows from this is that the Realm is even more of a naval empire than Lookshy and needs timber even more desperately, yet Lookshy either enacts steep tariffs on or entirely bans export of Eastern lumber to the Realm.)
Really, Lookshy's overwhelming strategic concern shouldn't be the Realm, it should be maintaining the massive brown-water navy it uses to keep the Eastern rivers clear of pirates and to subdue other nations that try to impose river tolls (since every toll imposed downriver hurts their own bottom-line).
This actually gets you back to American Lookshy - the Realm practices traditional extractive imperialism / colonialism, Lookshy practices an American-style imperialism / hegemony of keeping the trade lanes clear and tariffs low (although in this case to support their own tariff revenues). Lookshy probably even spends much of its vast surplus revenue on direct payments to client state governments, in the same way America provides substantial funding to the Egyptian and Pakistani militaries (among others). They probably have a massive shipyards which they can easily supply with lumber shipped from the Eastern forests, and so the analogy becomes even more direct - America wields soft power by exporting subsidized helicopters and fighter jets to client states (which of course make them critically dependent on us for their logistical chain), and Lookshy does the same by exporting or leasing some of the best warships (sometimes even with trained crew!).
(Another, less important point that follows from this is that the Realm is even more of a naval empire than Lookshy and needs timber even more desperately, yet Lookshy either enacts steep tariffs on or entirely bans export of Eastern lumber to the Realm.)
Yes, something I've never seen actually described, yet which must exist and must be the single most important piece of infrastructure in creation by far, is the system of trade winds maintained by the Immaculate Order or Realm through extensive negotiation with ocean spirits. It should probably be named, and the bureaucracy in charge of it should be peer to the Treasury, the All-Seeing Eye, etc. in terms of both budget and attention.
Also, easy plot hook for an important mission for DBs or Sidereals.
One thing that is bizarrely underemphasized about Lookshy is how they control all sea travel to something like fifty percent of the population of Creation. Its caches of First Age weaponry are less valuable than the vast revenues it should earn from even a nominal toll.
Lookshy is like Shanghai, New Orleans, and Antwerp all in one.
edit: argggh now I'm angry again the Lookshy is Magic USA Sparta and not Smugglers and Customs Agents City.
Hmmm, that seems like an obvious air/sea split between Lookshy and the Realm. Lookshy relies on its advantages in First Age tech and manufacturing to build the more technically-complex airships, and its ships end up Creation-wide in the hands of any noble house willing to pay through the nose for them. At the same time, Lookshy's rulers would presumably have a massive mercantile fleet under their direct or indirect control, which would serve as both a source of wealth and a military asset in times of war, much like the Dutch trading fleets of the 16th-17th centuries.
Lookshy's rulers would presumably also have their own smaller corps of Dragonbloods staffing regular trade routes among its allies with Heighliner-esque airships reliant on Dragonblood Charms to move, which would provide rapid bulk transport limited primarily by the high cost of constructing and staffing them. Outside of those inner networks where massive transports can sail freely, air trade would be rapid but small in volume, forcing bulk goods to travel by land or sea. This paradigm would allow Lookshy to influence commerce Creation-wide without letting it dominate any corner but its own.
Meanwhile, the Realm would rely on its advantages in geography and its inroads with Yu-Shan to dominate maritime trade, investing more heavily in sea routes and physical infrastructure to move goods Creation-wide. In areas where it's built that infrastructure, the Realm would be a commercial monster; transporting goods around the Inland Sea would be reliant on the favorable winds and seas they've ensured, and I'd imagine there'd be a large number of Realm cutters and messenger-airships acting as revenue services to tax any ship using them. This infrastructure (in the form of placated/cowed gods and elementals) could also be turned against any wannabe-invader, ensuring storms and shipwrecks for anyone trying to sail near the Blessed Isle without the Empress's consent.
Outside of the Inland Sea, the Realm would lean on its large numbers of Dragonbloods to keep trade lanes open rather than taking the expense of suborning every single petty god along the way like they'd do in the inner regions. I'm thinking something like a network of Dragonblood-led trading fleets which'd make regular transits out to the White Sea, the Violet Coast, and the western archipelagoes. This'd ensure Realm influence in the north, west, and south without making it dominant and leaving plenty of room for the local nobles to have their day.
Past those two, I'd imagine a lot of smaller trading networks built in a similar fashion. You'd likely see a similar maritime network in miniature across the White Sea among the cities of the Haslanti League, relying more on well-bribed gods than Dragonbloods. Similarly, the various eastern rivers would likely have some degree of physical or celestial infrastructure constructed to move goods, with Dragonblood-led trading fleets dominating further outwards due to the high costs and dangers of travel there. Landlocked major cities like Gem would presumably be served by Dragonblood-led air fleets, with higher transport costs incurred by the long distances involved. I imagine that trade among the Hundred Kingdoms would be reliant primarily on airships due to the lack of water transport and the political disunity there; then again, that'd suit Lookshy just fine.
On a small-scale perspective, this'd leave players with plenty of transport options via trading fleets or small-fry airships regularly putting in to port at major cities. While it might be insane to travel from Port Calin to Tuskstad by land, a reasonable fee would book them a cabin in a small airship making the run in a week or two. On the flipside, it'd also put them at risk of being rapidly overwhelmed by a major enemy force, since rapid communications and aerial mobility allows baddies like Wyld Hunt bands to rapidly communicate and converge on Anathema sightings. Having lots of airships around also effectively forces players to acquire one of their own by the mid-game or so in order to cross Creation at any reasonable speed. Disallowing magitech radio avoids the issue of "random-ass Realm airship can track Exalted at a distance and call in umpty-bajillion baddies down on their heads," but I'm not entirely sold on how the concept would play out on the small scale. Anyone have any suggestions for how to keep ground transport relevant over stupidly-long distances, at least for Exalted characters anyway?
Hmmm, that seems like an obvious air/sea split between Lookshy and the Realm. Lookshy relies on its advantages in First Age tech and manufacturing to build the more technically-complex airships, and its ships end up Creation-wide in the hands of any noble house willing to pay through the nose for them.
*snip*
Meanwhile, the Realm would rely on its advantages in geography and its inroads with Yu-Shan to dominate maritime trade, investing more heavily in sea routes and physical infrastructure to move goods Creation-wide.
You've got it so, so backwards. Lookshy is the one with the advantage in geography. This advantage is so big that their First Age weapons pale in significance.
The mouth of the Yanaze River emptying into the Inland Sea is the most important geographical feature in Creation bar none. Just look at this map:
If you live in Red and want to trade with someone in Blue, or vice versa, you are going to do it by ship or not at all. And if you are doing it by ship, you can either make a ten-thousand-kilometer northern detour into the treacherous, iceberg-filled (and probably seasonably impassible) White Sea into what is literally named Malice Bay, or you can pay a tariff to Lookshy.
The vast majority of Creation's population lives in the shaded areas, and is fairly evenly split between them. The two have significantly different endowments of natural resources; there will be trade, and a lot of it. And Lookshy controls that. Lookshy's overriding state interest is in maintaining that control and maximizing its value.
The Realm's advantage, relative to Lookshy, is in size, not geography.
On the plus side, having transportation dependent on the Dragonbloods also makes them utterly indispensable to Creation's civilization: rather than just lording over peasants by the power of "I know kung fu," they're providing regular services which justify their place as Creation's current top dogs. That being said, Iunno if this concept makes them seem too mundane - anyone with a better concept of Dragonbloods care to weigh in here?
This seems a pretty cool way to have the realm operate, though I'd point out if they mill the rice, it's not actually going to be that hard to ship it across even an Atlantic level distance. Humans couldn't survive on it without other stuff, but white rice lasts indefinitely if you can store it in a cool, dry place.
Just seal each jar (because gods of decay are so paranoid about air elements stealing their shit) and put a prayer strip to said gods of decay to keep it good on each one. Gods of food decay probably get one of the large immaculate prayer budgets.
Even if all of this does turn them into the Masquerade from the Traitor Baru Cormorant, it's still pretty cool.
but I'd say that Elementals could do the job pretty well? And that doesn't even necessarily need Sorcerers to handle (although they'd definitely help) but trained mortal thaumaturges might be able to manage since you're not yanking them from Lothric (the Underworld) or London Hell (Malfeas); they naturally occur in the environment and can be canonically induced to appear. Like...you bully a big ice-lizard into hanging out in your cargo hold for a while or a wood...vole (idk) to keep everything verdant and fresh. Nourish it with hearthstones or appropriate Essence so it doesn't croak on the journey over?
