- Location
- Singapore
General Exalted Thread
1: There's not really a reason to call it out specifically. For a comparable level of investment, you can create new forms of mundane life, or enhance creatures with mutations, or enhance a creature with supernatural merits, or just learn how to summon demons the old-fashioned way. That's probably going to meet most of your needs!
2: As others have mentioned, First Circles aren't quite that powerful, and Second Circles vary depending on what their specialty is. You're going to have an easier time fighting Alveua than Octavian, but Alveua offers a lot that Octavian does not vis a vis working souls into her crafts.
3: The entry for the Ambition 3 Celestion working specifies a "loyal minion with supernatural powers comparable to a Second Circle demon or notable god," so you're definitely not going to get someone inclined to backstab you. Whether that means they just start with a positive Tie toward you or have some measure of supernaturally enforced loyalty is going to depend on the nature of the being, the intent of your working as discussed between you and the ST, the Finesse of the working, and so on.
4: I'd be wary of assuming you can give a created minion any Charms you want. For starters, anything you create has to be run by your ST, no matter what. Even if you score Finesse 5 (and therefore your working plays out exactly how you want), it's still subject to ST approval, so you'll have to negotiate for something that you like that also meets their standards - the main advantage of Finesse is that you get to pick what the downsides are, rather than the ST choosing for you. It's also worth keeping in mind that in order to get that custom-tailored creature with full Finesse, you need to hit 35 threshold successes on an extended roll of difficulty 5. The more rolls you add in via extra Means, the more points of failure you introduce by making your working take more time, conform to meet the aesthetics of certain Abilities or spells, require the aid of another sorcerer or related entity, and so on. Finally, if you're not initiated into the Celestial Circle, you're pushing yourself to get this done, which kicks up the difficulty of the roll, raises the XP cost of the working, makes each roll take much longer, makes failures count as botches, and makes botches disastrously ruin the working. It's a nontrivial endeavor, overall.
EarthScorpion Homebrew: Szoreny Charmset
So, you remember how pretty much exactly a year ago over I had a bit of leave and so I finished up Oramus?
I had some leave last week. So here's another Yozi Charmset, modelled after the way @Revlid does things (and my previous Oramus), and specifically my notes earlier in the thread about "How I'd do Szoreny". Similar scale, similar charm and wordcount.
Szoreny, the Silver Forest Charmset
Ability focus - Athletics, Larceny, Socialise, Dodge, Performance
Night primary, Eclipse secondary
Thematics and aesthetics: Vanity, demagoguery, performance-enhancing drugs, Bane, "but her emails", multi-verse theory, mercury both as a transformative agent and also as a poisonous heavy metal
---
Once again, this is still a draft and there's a changelog where I'll record feedback and improvements. As it's a google doc, it's a living document and I'm sure you'll tell me if I've missed any ramifications or nasty interactions or any of my ideas were just plain bad. Hell, I'm expecting it.
(We now have enough fan Yozis that there's basically an alt-Reclamation between me and @Revlid; Isidoros, Elloge, Szoreny, Oramus and Metagaos. But who gets which caste?)
I had some leave last week. So here's another Yozi Charmset, modelled after the way @Revlid does things (and my previous Oramus), and specifically my notes earlier in the thread about "How I'd do Szoreny". Similar scale, similar charm and wordcount.
Szoreny, the Silver Forest Charmset
Ability focus - Athletics, Larceny, Socialise, Dodge, Performance
Night primary, Eclipse secondary
Thematics and aesthetics: Vanity, demagoguery, performance-enhancing drugs, Bane, "but her emails", multi-verse theory, mercury both as a transformative agent and also as a poisonous heavy metal
---
Once again, this is still a draft and there's a changelog where I'll record feedback and improvements. As it's a google doc, it's a living document and I'm sure you'll tell me if I've missed any ramifications or nasty interactions or any of my ideas were just plain bad. Hell, I'm expecting it.
(We now have enough fan Yozis that there's basically an alt-Reclamation between me and @Revlid; Isidoros, Elloge, Szoreny, Oramus and Metagaos. But who gets which caste?)
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I can confirm that it's well-done!
Also Isidoros gets Slayers, Elloge gets Malefactors, Oramus gets Defilers, Metagaos gets Scourges and Szoreny gets Fiends.
Also Isidoros gets Slayers, Elloge gets Malefactors, Oramus gets Defilers, Metagaos gets Scourges and Szoreny gets Fiends.
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Elloge really pours her heart and soul into it you know, it's just a great Caste, a really amazing Caste and sure it's not perfect she'll be the first to admit that but she worked really hard on it and if you don't like it you don't have to use it that's fine you can go back to the popular stuff like "Malefactors" or "Slayers". Isidoros is disappointed that "Skullfucker" has been judged as an unsuitable Caste name that nobody would ever actually use. Szoreny agreed after scratching out "Skullfucker Plus" on his sheet.
Oramus was too high to respond or notice Metagaos slowly stealing his bowl of snacks and chewing with his mouth open.
Iiiiiii am legitimately unsure. I'd probably tie it into something where if they go X days without spending at least Y amount of time around you they start getting antsy and anxious and needy as fuck. So you can't just send them off into the asshole end of Creation and not think about them for a few months. And need to either not spend time around other people they might kidnap and torture to figure out where the scented soaps are being hidden or carefully make sure they aren't breaking the cook's fingers to make double-extra-sure that's not poison versus "I'll bind them to just not be around people, that's cool".
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With all the custom charmsets about, I've wondered what an Adrian (pre-fetich death Adorjan) set would look like. My first impression is glass cannon that likes to be shattered. Huge damage output, little or no defense boosters, bonuses to damage based on how wounded they are. Doesn't stop being a blender until she's put down completely. Honestly kind of similar to Adorjan, but with more elemental-themed damage, since Adrian is fire, ice and razors instead of wind.
Socially, it all hinges on attachment. Instead of Adorjan's fleeting whims and abandonment, a Torment caste Infernal might declare a certain intimacy to be their Attachment, and receive bonuses and penalties based on the strength of said intimacy and how relevant it is to the situation. For example, a 3-dot intimacy of jealousy over someone's riches could apply a 3-dice bonus to any action oriented towards stealing from them, but a 3-dice malus on anything else. This would incentivize finding a very relevant subject and focusing on it to the exclusion of all other activities. Maybe some way of shifting Attachments as well, though maybe only after the current one has been satisfied or rendered null, or by spending a large amount of Willpower.
Socially, it all hinges on attachment. Instead of Adorjan's fleeting whims and abandonment, a Torment caste Infernal might declare a certain intimacy to be their Attachment, and receive bonuses and penalties based on the strength of said intimacy and how relevant it is to the situation. For example, a 3-dot intimacy of jealousy over someone's riches could apply a 3-dice bonus to any action oriented towards stealing from them, but a 3-dice malus on anything else. This would incentivize finding a very relevant subject and focusing on it to the exclusion of all other activities. Maybe some way of shifting Attachments as well, though maybe only after the current one has been satisfied or rendered null, or by spending a large amount of Willpower.
- Location
- my house
Some of the best news I've had in a while. Always great to see your work.
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Nah, that doesn't work. Oramus is very much a Zenithoid - Performance, Presence, Integrity, Resistance, Survival are all things he does, although he does also touch on Occult and Investigation. And I really have problems seeing Elloge as not getting the Eclipsoids, because, well, Linguistics.
Hmm. These five Yozis have the problem that they sort of overload on the Night and the Eclipse things and aren't very Twilight-y.
Couple typos that I noticed;
ROUGE-DAUBED CHARMER
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Illusion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Silver Tongue Statement
Before the Primordial War, even the gods were fooled by the innocent facade of Szoreny's cinnabar blossoms. After it, too many Exalts came to believe that the Silver Forest was less of a threat than the other Yozis.
This Charm enhances an action that might offend watchers, or a social attack which seeks to justify his past or future deeds deeds. He rolls his (Charisma + Socialise), adding his Essence in automatic successes, and compares his successes to the MDVs of onlookers. If he beats their MDVs, they are afflicted by an unnatural Illusion which leads them to believe that the Infernal's actions are justified under the circumstances. They consider it acceptable for the Infernal to commit deeds of that kind, now and in the future, even if they would consider them completely unacceptable for anyone else. It costs two willpower to resist the Illusion. This increases to three willpower if they possess a positive Intimacy to the warlock or an Intimacy that would support his actions (for example, hatred of the Realm when watching the Infernal murder a legionary), and four willpower if their motivation supports it.
This exception claws its way into their psyche if they do not spend willpower to resist it. The onlookers will not willingly re-examine the Infernal's behaviour on their own, and should someone else prompt an examination, they must spend four willpower to accept their own culpability in letting the warlock flaunt conventions in this way.
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Combo-OK, Illusion
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite Charms: Silver Tongue Statement
Before the Primordial War, even the gods were fooled by the innocent facade of Szoreny's cinnabar blossoms. After it, too many Exalts came to believe that the Silver Forest was less of a threat than the other Yozis.
This Charm enhances an action that might offend watchers, or a social attack which seeks to justify his past or future deeds deeds. He rolls his (Charisma + Socialise), adding his Essence in automatic successes, and compares his successes to the MDVs of onlookers. If he beats their MDVs, they are afflicted by an unnatural Illusion which leads them to believe that the Infernal's actions are justified under the circumstances. They consider it acceptable for the Infernal to commit deeds of that kind, now and in the future, even if they would consider them completely unacceptable for anyone else. It costs two willpower to resist the Illusion. This increases to three willpower if they possess a positive Intimacy to the warlock or an Intimacy that would support his actions (for example, hatred of the Realm when watching the Infernal murder a legionary), and four willpower if their motivation supports it.
This exception claws its way into their psyche if they do not spend willpower to resist it. The onlookers will not willingly re-examine the Infernal's behaviour on their own, and should someone else prompt an examination, they must spend four willpower to accept their own culpability in letting the warlock flaunt conventions in this way.
SILVER EYED MONSTER
Cost: - (10m); Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Wan Washed-Out Faces
When the tomescu scream Yuula, the Weeping Handmaiden, gathers up the offerings from Szoreny's shrines and bathes his roots in them.
This Charm functions as an additional Peripheral Essence pool capable of holding 10 motes. It refills at a rate of one mote an hour the Infernal spends in the presence of characters who envy him. When he spends his time lounging around and nothing nothing but receiving the adulations and pampering of others, he regains motes equal to the Magnitude of the individuals attending to his needs. These gains are mutually exclusive.
Additionally, adulation soothes Szoreny's insecurities. The Infernal may spend 10m from this pool to reduce the number of doses of quicksilver heartsap in his system by one.
Cost: - (10m); Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: None
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Wan Washed-Out Faces
When the tomescu scream Yuula, the Weeping Handmaiden, gathers up the offerings from Szoreny's shrines and bathes his roots in them.
This Charm functions as an additional Peripheral Essence pool capable of holding 10 motes. It refills at a rate of one mote an hour the Infernal spends in the presence of characters who envy him. When he spends his time lounging around and nothing nothing but receiving the adulations and pampering of others, he regains motes equal to the Magnitude of the individuals attending to his needs. These gains are mutually exclusive.
Additionally, adulation soothes Szoreny's insecurities. The Infernal may spend 10m from this pool to reduce the number of doses of quicksilver heartsap in his system by one.
Amusingly, both typos involve a word being repeated.
Cytherea maybe?
Off the top of my head, I think she's the only one left who could really fit into the Twilight role of Occult(maybe Lore, too) and Craft. Even then, she's not really perfect as she doesn't really have much ado about Investigation, except in apparently obscuring it. I guess you could roll that into a kind of "Anti-Twilight" thing, hiding things rather than revealing them. Also, may or may not have room for Medicine.
Only other Yozi that don't have Charmsets are Hegra(probably more Zenith/Eclipse with a smattering of drug crafting), Sacheverell(Probably heavy on Investigation, but also may not be really good for gaming), and Qaf(Zenith by way of ascetic holy man, could maybe kludge some Twilight in there?)
- Location
- Spain
Now i want to see what happens if you kill the Scarlet and activate this with, like, twenty sucesses.
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So, for someone like myself who is just really started getting into the detailed lore of second edition Exalted what do concepts do the Primordials represent? Like I've heard that Adorjan is supposed to represent vacuum, or that Cecelyne is supposed to represent the light speed limit or the expansion of the universe.
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
Primordials no more represent concepts that you represent a concept. That's not how it works.
Tell that to the people that have repeatedly said that you can't move between Malfeas and Creation quicker than five days because Cecelyne represents Light Speed, no exceptions.
Because that has come up more than once, and that seemed to be the usual excuse for why it shouldn't be a thing.
notanautomaton
I've got 99 quests, I've finished one
You can't go between Hell and Creation in less than five days due to the Surrender Oaths (Watsonian) and to keep Hell isolated from the rest of the setting (Doylist). Anything else is headcanon at best.
So speaking of Infernal Castes.........
In this case the Gunstar Shard with the Primordials winning the War and not taking the Surrender Oaths.
What would Cecelyne and SHWiLN choose instead as Caste Titles?
Eg SHWiLN has no desire to Defile the Spiral, and Cece knows her laws are just and right
In this case the Gunstar Shard with the Primordials winning the War and not taking the Surrender Oaths.
What would Cecelyne and SHWiLN choose instead as Caste Titles?
Eg SHWiLN has no desire to Defile the Spiral, and Cece knows her laws are just and right
- Location
- my house
The canon Twilightoid is SWLIHN right?
Also I always thought twilight stuff would fall nicely into oramus' themes
Swillin: Pyrian, Pyre, Lucent
Cecelyne: Heirophant, Vicar, Magister
Frakir's brother
Goodbye.
- Location
- The Sea of Trees
Based off five seconds of googling, Ecclesiast and Causidic.
So, we've got a creature defined by envy and a need to win at all costs, no regards for fair play or moral standards, and the following charms:
THIS LOOKS SHOPPED. I CAN TELL FROM SOME OF THE PIXELS AND FROM SEEING QUITE A FEW SHOPS IN MY TIME."
- Silver Tongue Statement: You're saying nothing of meaning, but people hear it as "I can and will give you what you want"
- Rouge-Daubed Charmer: People will excuse your dealings, no matter how bad, as acceptable or necessary. Also, once someone buys into it it's exceptionally difficult for them to admit they were wrong.
- Mirrored Desire Revelation: People you choose see you as what they would want you to be, regardless of what you are
EarthScorpion said:
THIS LOOKS SHOPPED. I CAN TELL FROM SOME OF THE PIXELS AND FROM SEEING QUITE A FEW SHOPS IN MY TIME."
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Salty
Shadow Cabal Assumptor Supreme
- Location
- Sun, Moon, Talia
- Pronouns
- I/Me
And here I was just thinking of them as the Conman Charms.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Exarch, someone who rules from the outside for Cecelyne and Censor, a supposedly incorruptible judge for She Who Lives In Her Name.
Aleph
Princess of Stabbity
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
They don't represent things in-setting, but they're written as geeky references to physics concepts as a bonus for nerds. In the same way that the shinma are a set theory joke that reference the essential elements of roleplaying, Malfeas is a fantasy description of a Dyson sphere (many layers of habitable material around a central sun), Cecelyne is both relativity and the lunar regolith (you can't cross her in less than five days and she's a silver desert under a black sky full of stars), Adorjan is hard vacuum (where there is no sound and you die in seconds), Isidoros is a black hole (the Black Boar/Bore(Hole) that Twists the Skies/Spacetime), Cytherea is the Big Bang (the Divine Ignition that created everything and is mysterious because we can't determine everything about it due to lack of experimental plausibility), Sacheverell is determinism... you get the picture.
Not all of them have such references, so don't go trying to pin things to all of them, but the references and twists on science or classical are there in many cases. It even boils down to lesser demons - like how Ligier is a realistic sun, whose colour is in the centre of our sun's emitted wavelengths (green, the middle of the visible spectrum) and who's horribly radioactive and forges heavier elements from lighter ones. Or for a "twist on classical fantasy" example, look to the passion morays, who deliberately flip the "virgin sacrifice" thing by making it easy to restore metaphysical virginity with a single First Circle demon.
These easter eggs don't really mean anything, in-setting. They're just fun jokes and nods and references to physics and mathematics that Borgstrom put in when she was writing Games of Divinity because she's a massive nerd in the best of ways.
Carrnage
Human
- Location
- New Zealand
Isnt she also solar winds?
- Location
- Singapore
Ok, when they say a Neomah can do fleshcrafting, does that mean he/ she/ it can induce/ take way mutations from a living creature?