So begins Session 21- with a party! One that Inks is not participating in specifically, but festival periods are important in Creation. I should remind everyone that Creation is thick with holidays, feast weeks, rituals and auspicious dates. And unlike the modern era, important events happen often enough at a local, national, directional or even worldwide scale to be made into a new party period. Or prayer day, whatever.
It helps that there is likely a god who's job is to oversee this day, and sends messages to their cults/priests to get the word out. Not that it matters for Sunlit Sands right here, but worth noting.
Now, Inks doesn't know what the party's for, didn't think to ask, but details like this are important to Exalted and the running of games. Specific days and dates are nice, but broader, 'clouds' of detail are also useful.
And now we are introduced properly to Vahti. I was expecting something like this. I did not expect this. I approved regardless.
Now, I made the choice to roll my Temperarnce 2 even though there's really no mechanical demand- trusting Inks's reaction to the dice and the intensity therein though was more fun for me and Aleph. Randomness, especially benign randomness, adds to the fun!
Anyway, Vahti has arrived, and has joined the august ranks of Inks's implicit lesbian harem. Light sensual content and ribald humor are things I like and enjoy in my Exalted, and Aleph continues to be a steady and considerate Storyteller when it comes to that sort of thing. Later on in the log you'll see us discuss it more in-depth.
I'm not yet sure where Vahti sits as far as 'character' or 'as-device' relating to a previous post Aleph made, but she's endearing. Generally speaking, people like people who are similar or have a complimentary dynamic. Aleph very much made a point to have Vahti come off like Inks, be influenced by Inks and how she acts. However, she was able to portray Vahti as not better than Inks or otherwise alienate me as a player with Vahti's portrayal.
What follows is- as Aleph encouraged me before session start- a very Inks-driven session. I tried to be fairly efficient with this opening scene, wanting to lay out my goals and get moving on them with due speed. I was able to juxtapose the meaningful plot groundwork with more character interaction and such.
NPCs are an interesting thing for a lot of people, because most players and storytellers are loathe to 'use' each other. As trust builds, that becomes less of an issue. For example, Aleph doesn't mind that Inks called Pipera in for this, or that I as a player am 'describing' how Vahti continues to give Inks a morning massage while this is all going on. Control over the scene passes from hand to hand, and this is the nature of good stunting.
The issue and challenge, is as always, what one player wants (and I count the ST as a player here), versus what the rest of the table wants and all the other possible permutations. I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes it's okay to let your character be 'controlled' beyond what the dice or rules say, if it helps the scene or story?
Now, my goals here about the Hepatizon plant and now Vitriol, I admit are largely about earning more Sorcerous XP so I can buy more spells/demon summoning procedures and in turn earn more sorcerous XP. As of this scene, I have 18xp tucked away and inching every so closer to Essence 4 and Celestial Circle Sorcery...
The notion of securing Gold is also something of a opportunity, as I had since chargen, a 'Holy Goldsmith' style on Inks's sheet that I had spent almost no time using. I was aiming to change that, and to start, I needed Gold. House Iblan is the 'precious metals' monopoly of Gem, so talking to them seemed to be my best bet.
Here, Aleph also tutorialized Pipera's function as executive aide- either a Charm or some other feat allows her to remember things more clearly than most, so she can in turn be a kind of plot device for things I or Inks should be doing, but have forgotten due to real-life issues or whatnot. Handy that!
Lesse, the last two notes from this 'scene' are gearing up to train some people to take over for some existing commitments Inks already has, which would free up time for more projects.
What's that phrase? No plan survives contact with the Storyteller? (I kid, I kid).
Anyway, we now spend some time with Inks acquiring fine materials and making pretty dresses- because why not? Sadly we did not really dig into how mechanically potent they were, but it's a fun thing to just throw dice and then say 'Look at how awesome these were'.
Aleph made a point to ask how Inks was including Pipera, because if I had overstepped my bounds (this ties back to what i was talking about earlier with stunting NPCs), i could have either had a very awkward in-character moment, or an equally awkward metatextual moment where Aleph and I resolved how to handle an issue.
A lot of this thing comes down to context- because Pipera is still cagey and 'her own person' instead of an extension of Inks's character sheet (in a cynical sense), I can't assume Inks knows exactly how she'll react. Anyway- Inks makes fansy dresses for herself and Vahti- and then attempts to and succeeds at making a 'good if but not up to her quality' effort for Pipera's specific sense of style.
However, it worked out rather well and Pipera continues to thaw- and after some prodding, Inks finally gets around to messaging Alakananda about the Kusaboin.
Now I had both in game and out of game forgotten to do this, so Aleph's hinting that I do so... Handled poorly, that kind of prodding that smack of railroading. We both had time today to indulge, so I did not feel pressured or frustrated, but it's one of those careful balancing acts that players and storytellers have to grapple with.
This sort of relates to a notion I best describe as 'Vote with Screentime' or 'Vote with Interest', more broadly. Sort of like voting with your wallet- the idea is that the more time and effort you spend on an element, the more a Storyteller should embelish and invoke it. The converse is true. The more you ignore something, the less often it should come up.
Now ignoring something is not the same as forgetting, like what I did. I in general terms am interested in Pipera's backstory and her character, Aleph's prompting, now that I think about it, had the tiniest hint of unintentional frustration on my part because for some idiosyncratic reason, it stepped on the line of 'playing my character'. I was being told How to approach a problem- now, I could have dug my heels in and done it Another way, but like i said earlier, since we both had 'time' to spare today, and I had no immediate or superior ideas in the vein of unveiling the Mystery of Ceae Pipera, I decided to follow that path of least resistance.
This sort of ties into a subject I've discussed before, which is the distinction of the Aesthetic Path vs the Optimal Path. Aesthetic in this case is 'how does it make you feel'.
Inks is actually the prime example of this- finding artifacts and manses are less fun for me as a player than building them. However, Aleph as a storyteller subscribes to a certain 'fair play' model of the setting in which effort for reward is held to a more objective standard. Why make a new daiklave when you can salvage an old one, etc? This is not to say that Aleph demands the game adhere to this vision or tone, but it's something that shapes her thinking and is part of how she models and internally consistent world.
I think that's a key element to the concept- internal consistency of world vs internal consistency of play experience. If a PCs' goal is to do X, being Given X and then not Taking it conflicts with the almost instinctual drive to optimize our game experiences.
Anyway, enough noodling! Back to postmortem.
Inks sends an Infallible Messenger- as a reminder I'm using the Anchor rules, so Maji is WHEE flying across Creation and speaking with Inks' voice. To spend time productively while waiting for the reply, Inks digs into Hinna's notes from her last meeting, and plays host to the Despot.
Rankar occupies an interesting space in the evaluation of 'Does Inks Flirt with this person' calculation I run during the game. He's by no means unattractive- though he's well, a despot, and his practices are amoral and he's generally a very self-serving kind of guy. Amusingly, he's likely one of the safer booty calls Inks could dare cultivate, simply because he probably doesn't want to marry her and have her be involved with his succession challenges and so on. Bluntly, Rankar just wants to have sex with pretty young things, and Inks is going to look like she's in her 20s for y'know, a few centuries.
Also for those who might not know, Maiden Tea is a plant that grows worldwide throughout Creation in pretty much any environ, it's ridiculously easy to access, and when properly brewed, acts as a month-long contraceptive preparation for women, iirc. It's so widely availible that it's generally assumed even destitute characters have access to it, and all the perks therein. So Inks won't be having children unless she chooses to, or someone manages to prevent her from taking a dose of tea.
The point I'm trying to make here is that the Despot is... someone that a more transaction-minded character would be willing to have sex with. Inks is not such a person. She doesn't want to sleep with Rankar to achieve a goal, she'd decide to do so if she liked him well enough as a potential sensual or romantic interest, which he currently is not. She's not above leveraging his obvious attraction to her, or being physical, hence the massage, but as it stands Rankar does not tick enough of her boxes.
Dang, this is becoming a large postmortem.
Anyway, so Rankar arrives, and I make a point to acknowledge that Inks's first three employees were in fact slaves he quite blithely gifted to her as a calculated show of generosity. Rankar for his part is pretty chill about the baths, and disrobing with an audience.
I actually really enjoyed this scene, because both Aleph and I were on board with the notion of it pulling double duty and letting it carry two or more plot threads forward. A lot of people tend to monofocus, which is why screentime gets so taxed, because it's often One Step One Thread at a time.
Anyway, Hinna apparently is a very ambitious person has a whole lot of horrifying ideas. Inks is Medicine 5, now recall that Creation doesn't have a Hippocratic oath or anything like that, so most of Inks's revulsion or dismay is due more to her deep and nuanced understanding of Exactly how bad a lot of what is being described actually is.
Setting Hinna's notes aside, we focus back on the Despot, and while I did not take the time to actually assess his truthfulness, he is surprisingly free with information. His advice regarding House Iblan is extremely timely and helpful going forward. As well as the potentially misleading hint that it was due to the Hepatizon production.
After wrapping up with the Despot, Alakananda' reply messenger arrives, and I'm given my first proper info dump on the Kusaboin. I have to underscore here something that Aleph's doing a good job- a big problem with Exalted in the fanbase, is an assumption of monoculture both in the playable era and the past, like the Shogunate.
I know that ES and Aleph, their friends and so on, all have strong feelings about the Shogunate and how it's been poorly treated, so this was a refreshing inclusion. The notion of a Shogunate holdover culture, and further the idea of an Immaculate Doctrine that's well, Different from the main one in my conscious, is inherently interesting.
The key here, for this kind of thing, is not to get wrapped up in telling me about this Cool Thing as a captive audience. I already want to know, mind, but balancing out the desire to share with the rest of the game is a skill that takes practice. Aleph's doing a fine job so far, as well.
After hashing out a few more book keeping details, we head out to the Forbidden Palace!
Sadly this is not a wuxia training ground, but instead a deep, dark subterranean swank casino. Inks, Vahti and Pipera are dressed to impress, and after spending some time schmmozing, Inks finds her primary target one Trasti Gion, and moves in for some discussion.
Now House Trasti is the 'Banker' house, they're the ones who control banks, financial institutions and so on in Gem. Who lends and owes money, that sort of thing. Also the casinos. Amusingly, Iblan, Trasti and Sahlak all kind of sit on the 'Vegas' trinity of Precious Metals, Banking/Gambling and Drugs/Sex/Vice...
Anyway, I was doing some idle research on east Asian or similar games of chance or whatnot, hence the mention of Pai Gow. I didn't find anything specific to bring up, so Aleph just implemented a vague card game that we agreed implicitly not to over detail.
Mechanically Inks is ill-suited for gambling, she doesn't have the means to control her facial expression yet. (Note to self, acquire a Mask Artifact from 2e core, by fluff alone it is amazingly useful for this).
I would like at some point to clarify what Aleph meant about being a card-counter- what pool would've used or not. I just forgot to ask.
That said, we introduce ourselves to Trasti Gion, who is... apparently Inks's age (around 25-26), and Elmei Sundering Jade- though I admit I ignore him for the rest of the session. Mostly out of concern for dwindling session time.
There was a bit of verbal sparing, and here I admit the session was at its weakest because I wasn't being very decisive with game actions or moving things along. In hindsight, I should be firmer with what I intend to do and make more concrete statements of my objectives, so I spend less time with 'fluff' text.
Having met and sparred a bit with Gion, we move on to the climax of the scene. Aleph has a moment that I'm sure everyone experiences, where they forget obvious uses of their traits and miss opporunities. She was aware enough to catch and pause, in turn allowing for a much more smooth and informed experience. It was nice that she prompted me about possibly slighting Gion, but I was confident I could mollify him either way. Fortunately we didn't need to worry about it.
Wind Carried Words FTW.
And now we enter Gion's private apartment, his actual Home, I can only surmise from the state of the place. Pipera's warning is on my mind, and the notion that this man is in fact Not doing well and Not in the Black...
Well, I'll let the log speak for itself.
