General Exalted Thread
I thought I'd try my hand at this thing. I hope it's to your liking.
#40 – The Heavenly Noble Fortress
Lying on the eastern rim of the Hundred Kingdoms, the Noble Fortress sees it as its duty to hold a mirror up to Heaven, and set an example to the rest of the world. Likewise, it strives to venerate the Unconquered Sun above all, and to safeguard its nobility. In this day and age the Noble Fortress is a bit of a misnomer, but the people cling to it stubbornly as a reminder of their founding by one the Sun's luminaries.
The citizens of this fair city have reason to be proud, for they alone hold dear the traditions of ages past, when the Unconquered Sun passed his mandate to his golden champions, to rule Creation wisely and justly. Those men and women may be long gone, but their descendants yet live, comprising a fifth of the modern populace.
To be a noble of the Fortress is to be a proven son or daughter of one of the golden champions, the rightful inheritors of the Sun's mandate. Thus, they alone are eligible for seats in the Diet that governs the city and all the territories controlled by it, though there be far fewer seats than candidates these days.
The rest of the population, lacking the right blood ties, toil as serfs and craftsmen, common soldiers and traders. The right to serve in the state apparatus, modelled after Yu-Shan's bureaucracy as per the old texts, is jealously guarded by the nobility. The military is similarly a refuge against social mobility. A commoner may exceed a poor noble in material wealth through skill or luck, but they can never rise higher than a junior officer.
#40 – The Heavenly Noble Fortress
Lying on the eastern rim of the Hundred Kingdoms, the Noble Fortress sees it as its duty to hold a mirror up to Heaven, and set an example to the rest of the world. Likewise, it strives to venerate the Unconquered Sun above all, and to safeguard its nobility. In this day and age the Noble Fortress is a bit of a misnomer, but the people cling to it stubbornly as a reminder of their founding by one the Sun's luminaries.
The citizens of this fair city have reason to be proud, for they alone hold dear the traditions of ages past, when the Unconquered Sun passed his mandate to his golden champions, to rule Creation wisely and justly. Those men and women may be long gone, but their descendants yet live, comprising a fifth of the modern populace.
To be a noble of the Fortress is to be a proven son or daughter of one of the golden champions, the rightful inheritors of the Sun's mandate. Thus, they alone are eligible for seats in the Diet that governs the city and all the territories controlled by it, though there be far fewer seats than candidates these days.
The rest of the population, lacking the right blood ties, toil as serfs and craftsmen, common soldiers and traders. The right to serve in the state apparatus, modelled after Yu-Shan's bureaucracy as per the old texts, is jealously guarded by the nobility. The military is similarly a refuge against social mobility. A commoner may exceed a poor noble in material wealth through skill or luck, but they can never rise higher than a junior officer.
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- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Okay, so overall, this is a cool idea, but I'm going to give it some critique, because critique is good and helps people improve. I will drive forth two central points of critique:
- What do you do there?
- What does it do?
Thanks for listening in advance!
Yeah, I agree mostly. I thought about this for about half an hour earlier today as I was taking a walk.
I'll have to develop the idea further, because I more or less stopped at my premise of 'Hungarian/Polish noble elite city-state using Solar descent as political justification'. But, if you think the idea's interesting in and of itself, I would love to develop the place and try and address all those points you raised.
Right now, I'd imagine it's a city-state, where most of the non-noble populace are serfs or labourers at noble-owned estates similar to the latifundia. The latter would be relatively rare though, because I don't think they control that much territory. Enough to keep themselves extant, but they're not a major power in the region.
I left the whole 'modelled after Yu-Shan' bit unclear because I hadn't decided if that was an accurate description or just what the inhabitants tell themselves.
As for the rest of the points you raised, I'm mulling over them at the moment. If you have ideas, feel free to raise them here or PM though.
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I was betrayed, they started posting while I was out.
-----------------------------------
#40: The Land of the Hunting Lodges
In the Land of the Hunting Lodges, the unique, deadly beasts of the neighbouring Hunter's Paradise provide the finest prizes in their own bodies. Bones harder than steel, sacs that spit flame, feathers shining in every colour imaginable, the beasts of the Paradise provide fine materials for tools and weapons, for art and the Lodgemen's famed beadwork strings and belts and tapestries, and an unending list of reagents for all manner of tasks from thaumaturgy to cooking - the treasures of the Paradise are great, for those Lodgemaidens bold enough to hunt its denizens, and skilled enough to survive the process.
Weapons crafted from such materials by their husbands make excellent tools to aid them in their hunts, and what they do not use themselves go to their tribes, and are traded for the more refined goods of civilization. In this way, beyond the farming and hunting of more wholesome forests, the People of the Hunting Lodges have thrived, both from their own hunts, and the occasional safaris of those seeking the ultimate prey.
But change is in the wind. "We are the mightiest people in the lands of the Great River," declares Warmth-of-Woven-Cloth in the Grand Councils, "and yet we are not granted respect. When our mourning mothers seek to fill the gaps in their family left by the Beasts of Paradise, they must take by force those people who should be grateful for the chance to enter the Lodges. They raid us for food, for our wealth, and even to take the lives of our people - they believe that honour and prestige is earned in killing." He advocates a war of conquest among their neighbours, to forge an empire to face the Hunter's Paradise, and any who would take it from them.
Such an empire may prove necessary. The Paradise is changing. Once, it was impossible for its beasts to live beyond its borders - they can be kept alive through costly rites, reagents, and diets, and some Princes of the Earth left the Paradise with a rare beast as companion, in addition to toruak-feather weapons and great-whelk beads. Then it was merely difficult. And it may be growing easier still - while the beasts still prefer not to leave the Paradise, they have done so more and more lately, putting the Lodges at a growing risk.
Perhaps the answer lies in the Heart of Paradise - no hunter has yet reached the Paradise's ultimate depths, and yet all tell tales of the prizes and secrets that may be within. Perhaps there, one will know why the Beasts of Paradise grow bolder.
- Pronouns
- she/her
I've always been pretty vague on what was or wasn't the Hundred Kingdoms, this was part of my game's Christmas special.
#41 Mourning Dove
Mourning Dove is ruled by the priesthood of three ghosts called the Psychopomps who occasionally appear to inhabitants of the city in their dreams or in person as important people from their past, present or future. The purpose of these visits is always to try and help the individual move on from a difficult moment of their life, say goodbye to a lost loved one or see that there's hope for their future.
The settlement itself has evolved from being a logging community in a haunted pine forest to becoming increasingly dependent on the wealth brought in by people on a journey of self-discovery.
#41 Mourning Dove
Mourning Dove is ruled by the priesthood of three ghosts called the Psychopomps who occasionally appear to inhabitants of the city in their dreams or in person as important people from their past, present or future. The purpose of these visits is always to try and help the individual move on from a difficult moment of their life, say goodbye to a lost loved one or see that there's hope for their future.
The settlement itself has evolved from being a logging community in a haunted pine forest to becoming increasingly dependent on the wealth brought in by people on a journey of self-discovery.
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
behold the terrible orracular guts of our creative process
[21:10]Omicron: Ah but you see Gargulec there is a very clever reason behind my naming schemes
[21:10]Omicron: "I have three hours to write all this I am not googling foreign languages"
[21:10]Omicron: "that'll eat literally half of my time"
[21:10]ManusDomini: ok tbh "crown's wisdom" makes it pretty hard too what the fuck do you call someone from crown's wisdom
[21:10]Winged Knight: @ManusDomini: You call them a Crowner.
[21:11]ManusDomini: god, see this is exactly what i mean
[21:11]ManusDomini: its just as bad as great forksian
[21:11]ManusDomini: these kind of things kill me
[21:11]Omicron: @ManusDomini: The answer is simple tbh
[21:11]Omicron: You don't call them. They come to you.
[21:11]ManusDomini: hmm
[21:11]ManusDomini: makes sense thanks omi
[21:11]Winged Knight: @ManusDomini: I mean, I would have called being from Great Forks a Forker.
[21:12]Winged Knight: "Look at that Forker, thinking he's so much better than us."
[21:11]ManusDomini: SEE
[21:12]ManusDomini: YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM
[21:17]Omicron: @ManusDomini: Official Naming Scheme For Omicron's Hundred Kingdoms:
-The Crown's Wisdom - "wise ones" (sarcastic), "wise ones" (respectful), "wise ones" (terrified)
-The Ringed City - "these assholes," "copperheads," "gougers"
-Twin Reflections - "pikes," "condors," (respectful), "needlemouths," "brittles," "fishfaces," "pirates" (colloquial)
-The Swan Lake - "heretics" (all), "monsters" (Wyld-touched), "monsterfuckers" (humans)
-The Laughing-Men - "STOP STABBING ME"
[21:17]ManusDomini: fuck off
[21:10]Omicron: Ah but you see Gargulec there is a very clever reason behind my naming schemes
[21:10]Omicron: "I have three hours to write all this I am not googling foreign languages"
[21:10]Omicron: "that'll eat literally half of my time"
[21:10]ManusDomini: ok tbh "crown's wisdom" makes it pretty hard too what the fuck do you call someone from crown's wisdom
[21:10]Winged Knight: @ManusDomini: You call them a Crowner.
[21:11]ManusDomini: god, see this is exactly what i mean
[21:11]ManusDomini: its just as bad as great forksian
[21:11]ManusDomini: these kind of things kill me
[21:11]Omicron: @ManusDomini: The answer is simple tbh
[21:11]Omicron: You don't call them. They come to you.
[21:11]ManusDomini: hmm
[21:11]ManusDomini: makes sense thanks omi
[21:11]Winged Knight: @ManusDomini: I mean, I would have called being from Great Forks a Forker.
[21:12]Winged Knight: "Look at that Forker, thinking he's so much better than us."
[21:11]ManusDomini: SEE
[21:12]ManusDomini: YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM
[21:17]Omicron: @ManusDomini: Official Naming Scheme For Omicron's Hundred Kingdoms:
-The Crown's Wisdom - "wise ones" (sarcastic), "wise ones" (respectful), "wise ones" (terrified)
-The Ringed City - "these assholes," "copperheads," "gougers"
-Twin Reflections - "pikes," "condors," (respectful), "needlemouths," "brittles," "fishfaces," "pirates" (colloquial)
-The Swan Lake - "heretics" (all), "monsters" (Wyld-touched), "monsterfuckers" (humans)
-The Laughing-Men - "STOP STABBING ME"
[21:17]ManusDomini: fuck off
TenfoldShields
Lounging on a Hoard of Words
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Fwiw, and to build out from what @ManusDomini suggested, the way a lot of the kingdoms got written up was, like, meat draped over a fairly consistent skeleton:
- Who's the main NPC here, who's the "face" of the place?
- What is the PC-desirable resource it provides.
- What is the conflict that threatens it and provides hooks for a PC to engage.
Beyond that and at a kinda base level the place is an aerial hub with multiple skydocks for constructing airships, and as part of earning his trust if not his outright friendship First Fangs has blueprints of new designs to offer. Useful narratively if your characters are doing a lot of skyship stuff or even if they're just traveling by air, the place's nature as a kinda crossroads gives it an easy "in" to feature in a story or quest or RPG or whatever.
In general too, given the relatively short nature of the writeups, it's more useful to focus on the atmosphere and mood of a place, rather than the nitty gritty of the politics which can be, like the major NPC's, sketched out with a few brief lines and some suggestion, a little implication. Is this place rich? Is it poor? Is it grand and gothic? Does it sprawl out? Is it on the shores of some vast lake or built into the deep, shadowy caves of a mountain? How does it feel to be here?
Being evocative and attention-grabbing is the priority basically. It makes it stick in the memory more and draws interest, prompts creativity and all that jazz.
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- Location
- Library
EDIT: lore fail
(somewhere around the coastal mountains on 3rd ed map between Thorns and Lookshy, which is geographically interesting)
Muziris
Muziris, Slave Harbour, where slaves are bought from constantly warring mountain tribes, where former helots are now holding lashes. New merchant prince assert control over corrupted bureaucracy, for all revolutions are just a turning in the base cycle of power. Muziris had been the epicenter of bloody revolt against remnants of Realm's control shortly after the fall of Thorns, with those loyal to Dragon-Blooded still in the area trying to hold onto their power in the face of a massive army of former slaves who knew that backup for their masters was, for once, not coming. Once the last vestiges of the old order were gone, however, the City fell into factionalism and Nexan Guild asserted its power over months of struggle. Slavers were brought back and ancient trades with tribes resumed.
Merchant prince Bhadani, man of great ambitions, greed and charm, now owns all the flesh markets, shipyard and pays for the loyalty of the ragtag army of former rebels with his silver and pleasure slaves. All appears to be in his hands yet he is terrified. Fallen Thorns' new master sends an envoy in rags and after his visit Bhadani find no respite from nightmares. He asks for guards, and more guards, he orderes construction of lavish temples to lure gods to his aid, interrogate savants and scholars about omens real and imaginary, even sends for Sijan' exorcists. He ordered all revens killed and all mirror in the palace broken. The purges and detentions started last week, verdicts are a lottery for no one knows what Bhandani sees in his dreams.
(somewhere around the coastal mountains on 3rd ed map between Thorns and Lookshy, which is geographically interesting)
Muziris
Muziris, Slave Harbour, where slaves are bought from constantly warring mountain tribes, where former helots are now holding lashes. New merchant prince assert control over corrupted bureaucracy, for all revolutions are just a turning in the base cycle of power. Muziris had been the epicenter of bloody revolt against remnants of Realm's control shortly after the fall of Thorns, with those loyal to Dragon-Blooded still in the area trying to hold onto their power in the face of a massive army of former slaves who knew that backup for their masters was, for once, not coming. Once the last vestiges of the old order were gone, however, the City fell into factionalism and Nexan Guild asserted its power over months of struggle. Slavers were brought back and ancient trades with tribes resumed.
Merchant prince Bhadani, man of great ambitions, greed and charm, now owns all the flesh markets, shipyard and pays for the loyalty of the ragtag army of former rebels with his silver and pleasure slaves. All appears to be in his hands yet he is terrified. Fallen Thorns' new master sends an envoy in rags and after his visit Bhadani find no respite from nightmares. He asks for guards, and more guards, he orderes construction of lavish temples to lure gods to his aid, interrogate savants and scholars about omens real and imaginary, even sends for Sijan' exorcists. He ordered all revens killed and all mirror in the palace broken. The purges and detentions started last week, verdicts are a lottery for no one knows what Bhandani sees in his dreams.
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- Location
- NYC
#43 — Blazing Khemir
Long ago, Khemathen was the site of some great and terrible conflict that carved hilltops from their mounds and rent great trenches into Creation, some descending leagues underground. The first to settle the land were miners, delving into the canyons and basins in search of Jade and ore. Those first explorers built their homes into the sides of their mines, as shelter from the storms of fire and smoke that still plagued the surface in those days. Over the centuries Khemathen expanded both down and out, new waves of settlement pushing into the newly excavated deeps and out onto Creation's face. Towns might range down barely dozens of meters of ladders, rope bridges, and causeways with trading posts on the surface, while Khemathen's cities pierce the earth further than the eye can see, mazes of elevators of steel rope and pulleys manned with the mole-like elementals of the region, bridges of marble and obsidian, mansions with carven, gem-studded idols of the Ashetat, the Miner's God. Khemathen has profited greatly over the centuries, exporting all manner of mundane and magical ore.
Twelve years ago, deep beneath Khemir, greatest of the cities of Khemathen, seat of the Highest Prince of the Khematheni, a spark was lit where no spark ought to be. Some say it was one of the Princes of the Earth, exploring for buried treasure. Others say a negligent mining crew. Some whisper of conspiracy, sabotage, or some uncovered ancient artifact. Regardless, fire touched a vein of coal, to burn and burn for ten generations. Within minutes Khemir was filled with smoke and soot, the entire city transformed into a chimney. Some escaped, but many perished, leaving behind a mountain of wealth and treasure. Four times the Khemiri have sought to quench the fire through sorcery or ancient relics, and four times they have failed. Now, the Khemiri feud and squabble, offering increasingly absurd rewards to any who might quench the flames beneath the city. Such a task is likely to be far from easy, however: a nascent Shadowland grows within the smoke-filled chambers of the city, which are infested by beasts of rock and lava unlikely to view trespassers favorably. Any who manage to pass through the city and discover the still-burning vein will face on final challenge: the fire has warped Ashetat, driving her mad, and she will oppose any attempt to clear her new domain of soot and char.
Long ago, Khemathen was the site of some great and terrible conflict that carved hilltops from their mounds and rent great trenches into Creation, some descending leagues underground. The first to settle the land were miners, delving into the canyons and basins in search of Jade and ore. Those first explorers built their homes into the sides of their mines, as shelter from the storms of fire and smoke that still plagued the surface in those days. Over the centuries Khemathen expanded both down and out, new waves of settlement pushing into the newly excavated deeps and out onto Creation's face. Towns might range down barely dozens of meters of ladders, rope bridges, and causeways with trading posts on the surface, while Khemathen's cities pierce the earth further than the eye can see, mazes of elevators of steel rope and pulleys manned with the mole-like elementals of the region, bridges of marble and obsidian, mansions with carven, gem-studded idols of the Ashetat, the Miner's God. Khemathen has profited greatly over the centuries, exporting all manner of mundane and magical ore.
Twelve years ago, deep beneath Khemir, greatest of the cities of Khemathen, seat of the Highest Prince of the Khematheni, a spark was lit where no spark ought to be. Some say it was one of the Princes of the Earth, exploring for buried treasure. Others say a negligent mining crew. Some whisper of conspiracy, sabotage, or some uncovered ancient artifact. Regardless, fire touched a vein of coal, to burn and burn for ten generations. Within minutes Khemir was filled with smoke and soot, the entire city transformed into a chimney. Some escaped, but many perished, leaving behind a mountain of wealth and treasure. Four times the Khemiri have sought to quench the fire through sorcery or ancient relics, and four times they have failed. Now, the Khemiri feud and squabble, offering increasingly absurd rewards to any who might quench the flames beneath the city. Such a task is likely to be far from easy, however: a nascent Shadowland grows within the smoke-filled chambers of the city, which are infested by beasts of rock and lava unlikely to view trespassers favorably. Any who manage to pass through the city and discover the still-burning vein will face on final challenge: the fire has warped Ashetat, driving her mad, and she will oppose any attempt to clear her new domain of soot and char.
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No issues with your region, but it's not in the Hundred Kingdoms, so it's outside the scope of the specific list we have going. (The Hundred Kingdoms is basically the eastern halfish of the Scavenger Lands - starting at the joining of the Maruto and Yellow Rivers, and basically stretching east until you hit the great forests. We've stretched a little bit into there to get some extra space, but in general, that area)
- Location
- Library
Hmm, ok, I was thinking of the whole Scavenger Lands/Confederacy of Rivers as Hundred Kingdoms. I need to brush up my lore, I start to forgot details like that.
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Yes, we return once more with Sunlit Sands! Session 48 starts moving things in an interesting, dynamic direction, slight snags aside. Props as always to @Aleph for running, so let's get into it!
Session 48 log
Session 48 log
So, last session, Inks and co managed to parlay out an opportunity to secure proof of Iblan's corruption, to lend weight to her own accusations of Iblan Bana and company trying to kill her for the presumption of being an ambitious Solar that is becoming the leggy harbinger of change. Aleph had a really nice phrase to describe it, but I can't remember what it was.
Basically though, even if Inks's ideas and goals are going to be a long-term improvement for everyone, very few people actually see as far as she does- or thinks she does. and Inks has not proven her vision to many people yet either.
Now, I had expected an entirely different challenge. This whole opening sequence blindsided me, but I was game to engage with it regardless. I mention this though, because this kind of... occurence can make or break games if you don't have a good rapport with your table.
My expectation was something akin to a forensic challenge, playing to Inks's strengths, using Tatters as an extension of Inks's ability to examine the world and derive information from it. Basically I had planned in my head a more of a 'technothriller' plot, based on following paper trails and evidence and learning more about my targets.
What I got, what Aleph jumped ahead to, was the breach-and-clear of a hostile base with effectivey no preparation. She later explained/admitted that because 'she knew' the Raksha was there, that she wanted to get to the actual confrontation.
This is not, in and of itself, bad. The issue was that I as a player had very little time/agency to engage with the challenge the way I wanted to. And sometimes the players should be denied agency, or at least certain kinds. It helps keep things interesting, and we find negative experiences more memorable even if positive experiences are more powerful. That's not to say negativity is the goal, but meaningful contrast is important.
So Aleph put Inks in front of a medium to high-threat location, and I had very little player-time to devise a means or plan to approach this. Hence the delays and OOC conversation early in the session.
I'm not sure what my actual opinion of the opening is now. I acknowledge there are things I would have preferred being allowed to do, and such an arbitrary move in space/time can be seen as railroading. At the same time, as I mentioned in-log, doing this was probably better for the game structure and session as a whole, avoiding grinding exposition posts and the like.
I think my thought would have been something like this:
ST: "I know where the Raksha is, and I'm interested in getting us to the confrontation. Are you okay with us moving through to that?"
Player: "How much time/opportunity do I have to prepare?"
ST: "About this much time."
Player: "Got it, then I do X, Y and Z."
Sometimes, even an ST asking that question can 'spoil' the plot, so it must be deliberated before being invoked.
Now, that being said, Piercing Sun is best worst teacher or worst best teacher. You decide. Either way he's great fun to have on camera, and I am damned sure Aleph loves the opportunity to play an egocentric warhawk DB against Inks's more egalitarian meritocratic hedonist-solar.
Piercing Sun occupies an interesting place, in that he is still an Ally, and I'm not used to having to 'play against' Allies in game. As storyteller I never had the energy to do so, trusting them to be extensions of the PCs' will. Granted most games I ran had 3-5 players, so I was never short on some kind of action or conflict being generated.
So Inks gets in Sun's face about his attitude... and he is Not Impressed until Inks stands her ground against a man who bluntly can kill her where she stands. Well, maybe-sorta. Inks could pull Chronicle out for a parry real easy, but past that, in terms of lethality, Sun is several steps above Inks.
And then we're reminded Inks is Conviction 5 and Sun likes her in his own gnarly old-soldier way.
And I want to stress, best worst teacher/worst best teacher. If Inks calls for help, she proves him right, but she still lives to try again.
After Sun declares this to be Inks's Graduation Exam, I get into high gear trying to stunt up a miracle. Remember, Inks has War 2. Her Intelligence and Perception make up for a lot, but in terms of leadership ability, she's not at all 'high end'.
Now, here's where even though I as a player was denied a certain amount of agency, Aleph's prior description stuck in my mind, along with my own heightened awareness. Because I wasn't at my Strongest, I was more actively aware of my assets as a player. Specifically- that Inks was a Crafter, and that Inks had in the past, retrofitted this complex with her cooling thaumaturgic architecture.
Shaking loose more information with some really good rolls, Inks comes up with a plan of attack.
The first sign that something was wrong- no obvious guards.
The second sign - An obstacle that forces my party to go single file.
Entering the garden, we're treated to a wonderful bit of scene-setting. I however, take the time to employ an updated Houserule that Aleph created- Unseen Senses. It sort of grew out of a kerisgame hack that I raised design issue with- in that if you assume that any Enlightened Character can see the Immaterial constantly, the storyteller has to mention it. The 'advantage' of Charms like Spirit-detecting glance or AESS is that they aren't constantly active, conserving detail.
Having only determined that there was... magical, wyld-tainted flowers, we move on. Here was a small snag that Aleph and I later discussed in-log. I think the way she articulated the illusion effects both in-game and mechanically were good, but she forgot to call out specific mechanical keywords that might help inform my decisions.
So because of that unstated detail, and my own interpretation of how Aleph runs the game, I decided "let's try Noticing the illusion, seeing what that does." I felt safe enough to experiment, which is something I think that players need in order to truly enjoy the game.
That means from this point on, Inks is aware of the Illusion, but has not actively Resisted it yet.
Now, Inks, Vahti and Maji approached through the trellises on one side, while Nabijah and her Deyha on the other- we can't see each other now, and as we all know- Never Split the Party.
And yes, we now start seeing some memes emerging regarding Inks and her competencies, or lack thereof. Inks's personality is such that Aleph is convinced she will never go for Stealth or Disguise magic, and she's not wholly wrong. I admit though the idea of picking up Flawlessly Impenetrable Disguise is really handy, considering Inks's one of the most obviously iconic and memorable people you'd ever meet.
???: "Mornin' ladies!"
Vahti: "Who are you and why do you sound like boss!"
???: "...It's me, Inks."
Pipera: "...Your skin is more fair than I expected."
But, even though Maji is about 1.5 times the size of a normal tiger and partly made of metal, he has fantastic stealth, and Inks squeaked it by.
And so we meet our first Raksha. A character with Appearance/Awe 7. I find it interesting how Aleph chose to portray this, as 'too much beauty to contain in a single coherent whole'. I wonder if the same would apply to a God of Creation or a Demon.
Of course, This fae does not have a Tiger connected to their mind, so Maji Clinch! I do find it interesting/refreshing that Aleph is comfortable enough to acknowledge things like sensuality and arousal in play as well- it's quick and artful as opposed to lingering and indulgent.
Now that the Raksha's on camera, I want you to start paying attention to the log more closely...
As I mentioned OOC as well, what a lot of people call the Wyld and Pure Chaos is... wrong. Anything that Isn't Pure Chaos is in fact Wyld, ranging from Border and Middlemarches, to Deep Wyld. Pure Chaos is where not even the suggestion of coherency or theme reigns, and where Unshaped live.
One interesting note here is that Aleph made it clear that a number of Raksha are in fact corrupted Creation-natives. This has no precedent in my play experience. I should stress that Aleph does not use Graceful Wicked Masques except in the broadest of strokes. I however, have read that book several times and Have Experience with Raksha mechanics if not Raksha games.
It's difficult to suppress that knowledge.
Now we approach the worst/best part of my roleplaying here. On the one hand, it's fun to lay out the purple prose. On the other hand, it felt inconsistent with how Inks normally speaks. So hopefully going onward, I can integrate it more fully into her character or do a better job next time.
I leaned on Judge's Ear more this session, despite how awkward it is to use under the houserules, and as Aleph later points out- that basically saved Inks.
But finally though, everything's starting to add up, and Inks finally spends the willpower to resist the Illusion, revealing the twist Aleph had been tying off all session.
Status: Inks and Maji are alone. Vahti is nowhere to be seen. Nabijah and her gals are probably enraptured, and now Tatters reveals that Inks has been talking to an empty hammock for five minutes.
Basically though, even if Inks's ideas and goals are going to be a long-term improvement for everyone, very few people actually see as far as she does- or thinks she does. and Inks has not proven her vision to many people yet either.
Now, I had expected an entirely different challenge. This whole opening sequence blindsided me, but I was game to engage with it regardless. I mention this though, because this kind of... occurence can make or break games if you don't have a good rapport with your table.
My expectation was something akin to a forensic challenge, playing to Inks's strengths, using Tatters as an extension of Inks's ability to examine the world and derive information from it. Basically I had planned in my head a more of a 'technothriller' plot, based on following paper trails and evidence and learning more about my targets.
What I got, what Aleph jumped ahead to, was the breach-and-clear of a hostile base with effectivey no preparation. She later explained/admitted that because 'she knew' the Raksha was there, that she wanted to get to the actual confrontation.
This is not, in and of itself, bad. The issue was that I as a player had very little time/agency to engage with the challenge the way I wanted to. And sometimes the players should be denied agency, or at least certain kinds. It helps keep things interesting, and we find negative experiences more memorable even if positive experiences are more powerful. That's not to say negativity is the goal, but meaningful contrast is important.
So Aleph put Inks in front of a medium to high-threat location, and I had very little player-time to devise a means or plan to approach this. Hence the delays and OOC conversation early in the session.
I'm not sure what my actual opinion of the opening is now. I acknowledge there are things I would have preferred being allowed to do, and such an arbitrary move in space/time can be seen as railroading. At the same time, as I mentioned in-log, doing this was probably better for the game structure and session as a whole, avoiding grinding exposition posts and the like.
I think my thought would have been something like this:
ST: "I know where the Raksha is, and I'm interested in getting us to the confrontation. Are you okay with us moving through to that?"
Player: "How much time/opportunity do I have to prepare?"
ST: "About this much time."
Player: "Got it, then I do X, Y and Z."
Sometimes, even an ST asking that question can 'spoil' the plot, so it must be deliberated before being invoked.
Now, that being said, Piercing Sun is best worst teacher or worst best teacher. You decide. Either way he's great fun to have on camera, and I am damned sure Aleph loves the opportunity to play an egocentric warhawk DB against Inks's more egalitarian meritocratic hedonist-solar.
Piercing Sun occupies an interesting place, in that he is still an Ally, and I'm not used to having to 'play against' Allies in game. As storyteller I never had the energy to do so, trusting them to be extensions of the PCs' will. Granted most games I ran had 3-5 players, so I was never short on some kind of action or conflict being generated.
So Inks gets in Sun's face about his attitude... and he is Not Impressed until Inks stands her ground against a man who bluntly can kill her where she stands. Well, maybe-sorta. Inks could pull Chronicle out for a parry real easy, but past that, in terms of lethality, Sun is several steps above Inks.
And then we're reminded Inks is Conviction 5 and Sun likes her in his own gnarly old-soldier way.
And I want to stress, best worst teacher/worst best teacher. If Inks calls for help, she proves him right, but she still lives to try again.
After Sun declares this to be Inks's Graduation Exam, I get into high gear trying to stunt up a miracle. Remember, Inks has War 2. Her Intelligence and Perception make up for a lot, but in terms of leadership ability, she's not at all 'high end'.
Now, here's where even though I as a player was denied a certain amount of agency, Aleph's prior description stuck in my mind, along with my own heightened awareness. Because I wasn't at my Strongest, I was more actively aware of my assets as a player. Specifically- that Inks was a Crafter, and that Inks had in the past, retrofitted this complex with her cooling thaumaturgic architecture.
Shaking loose more information with some really good rolls, Inks comes up with a plan of attack.
The first sign that something was wrong- no obvious guards.
The second sign - An obstacle that forces my party to go single file.
Entering the garden, we're treated to a wonderful bit of scene-setting. I however, take the time to employ an updated Houserule that Aleph created- Unseen Senses. It sort of grew out of a kerisgame hack that I raised design issue with- in that if you assume that any Enlightened Character can see the Immaterial constantly, the storyteller has to mention it. The 'advantage' of Charms like Spirit-detecting glance or AESS is that they aren't constantly active, conserving detail.
Having only determined that there was... magical, wyld-tainted flowers, we move on. Here was a small snag that Aleph and I later discussed in-log. I think the way she articulated the illusion effects both in-game and mechanically were good, but she forgot to call out specific mechanical keywords that might help inform my decisions.
So because of that unstated detail, and my own interpretation of how Aleph runs the game, I decided "let's try Noticing the illusion, seeing what that does." I felt safe enough to experiment, which is something I think that players need in order to truly enjoy the game.
That means from this point on, Inks is aware of the Illusion, but has not actively Resisted it yet.
Now, Inks, Vahti and Maji approached through the trellises on one side, while Nabijah and her Deyha on the other- we can't see each other now, and as we all know- Never Split the Party.
And yes, we now start seeing some memes emerging regarding Inks and her competencies, or lack thereof. Inks's personality is such that Aleph is convinced she will never go for Stealth or Disguise magic, and she's not wholly wrong. I admit though the idea of picking up Flawlessly Impenetrable Disguise is really handy, considering Inks's one of the most obviously iconic and memorable people you'd ever meet.
???: "Mornin' ladies!"
Vahti: "Who are you and why do you sound like boss!"
???: "...It's me, Inks."
Pipera: "...Your skin is more fair than I expected."
But, even though Maji is about 1.5 times the size of a normal tiger and partly made of metal, he has fantastic stealth, and Inks squeaked it by.
And so we meet our first Raksha. A character with Appearance/Awe 7. I find it interesting how Aleph chose to portray this, as 'too much beauty to contain in a single coherent whole'. I wonder if the same would apply to a God of Creation or a Demon.
Of course, This fae does not have a Tiger connected to their mind, so Maji Clinch! I do find it interesting/refreshing that Aleph is comfortable enough to acknowledge things like sensuality and arousal in play as well- it's quick and artful as opposed to lingering and indulgent.
Now that the Raksha's on camera, I want you to start paying attention to the log more closely...
As I mentioned OOC as well, what a lot of people call the Wyld and Pure Chaos is... wrong. Anything that Isn't Pure Chaos is in fact Wyld, ranging from Border and Middlemarches, to Deep Wyld. Pure Chaos is where not even the suggestion of coherency or theme reigns, and where Unshaped live.
One interesting note here is that Aleph made it clear that a number of Raksha are in fact corrupted Creation-natives. This has no precedent in my play experience. I should stress that Aleph does not use Graceful Wicked Masques except in the broadest of strokes. I however, have read that book several times and Have Experience with Raksha mechanics if not Raksha games.
It's difficult to suppress that knowledge.
Now we approach the worst/best part of my roleplaying here. On the one hand, it's fun to lay out the purple prose. On the other hand, it felt inconsistent with how Inks normally speaks. So hopefully going onward, I can integrate it more fully into her character or do a better job next time.
I leaned on Judge's Ear more this session, despite how awkward it is to use under the houserules, and as Aleph later points out- that basically saved Inks.
But finally though, everything's starting to add up, and Inks finally spends the willpower to resist the Illusion, revealing the twist Aleph had been tying off all session.
Status: Inks and Maji are alone. Vahti is nowhere to be seen. Nabijah and her gals are probably enraptured, and now Tatters reveals that Inks has been talking to an empty hammock for five minutes.
Jan 23 14:30:33 <Inks> Sassy tatters is sassy
Jan 23 14:30:36 <Aleph> 5xp + 1mxp
Jan 23 14:31:47 <Aleph> In her defense, she just spent several minutes watching from the roof while the party split up like idiots chasing private fantasies and then desperately trying to work out a way to snap -her crush- Inks out of it that wouldn't result in the raksha making Inks think she was a horrible wyld monster that needed to be hit with a sword.
Jan 23 14:32:06 <Aleph> (she was unsuccessful at this)
Jan 23 14:32:27 <Aleph> (and was starting to consider resorting to desperate measures when Inks woke up on her own)
Jan 23 14:32:43 <Inks> I figured
Jan 23 14:33:28 <Inks> You're definitely fostering an environment that makes me want to be suspicious of everything
Jan 23 14:33:32 <Inks> pros and cons to that
Jan 23 14:33:38 <Aleph> Anyway, yes, I'm feeling very smug now. How did you find the twist? Did it feel too bullshit, or satisfyingly "yeah, I earned that"?
Jan 23 14:33:55 <Inks> Hmm. Mostly 'Yeah I earned that', you have every right to be smug
Jan 23 14:33:59 <Aleph> ^_^
Jan 23 14:34:01 <Inks> I was definitely thrown off at the beginning like i mentioned
Jan 23 14:34:10 <Inks> but overall it was a good decision
Jan 23 14:34:18 <Inks> it uhmm..
Jan 23 14:34:20 <Aleph> Good to hear. Sorry for the blindside.
Jan 23 14:34:22 <Inks> Yeah, it threw me because I'm... used to there being the question of things like are they present/not present, as being more part of inksgame convention?
Jan 23 14:35:00 <Inks> them Being There as we arrived triggered my 'contrivance' button- the raksha i mean
Jan 23 14:35:07 <Inks> "It's not supposed to be that simple."
Jan 23 14:35:10 <Inks> but that's an irrational response
Jan 23 14:35:16 <Inks> sometimes it IS that simple
Jan 23 14:35:40 <Aleph> Well, in this case it's also that he just doesn't leave much. He's there most of the time.
Jan 23 14:35:48 <Inks> Right, but I had no way of knowing that or infering it
Jan 23 14:35:55 <Inks> you essentially just Told Me by advancing the scene there
Jan 23 14:35:56 <Aleph> Yeah, fair.
Jan 23 14:36:20 <Aleph> Yeah, I think, hmm
Jan 23 14:36:24 <Inks> andI didn't get to feel clever by having an opportunity to capture him outside his place of power- not that it always is gonna be an option!
Jan 23 14:36:39 <Aleph> _I_ knew he was there (and was eager to get to the fun illusion stuff), and kind of forgot that you didn't.
Jan 23 14:36:47 <Inks> now that being said, in defense of your approach, the procedural stuff
Jan 23 14:36:50 <Inks> you don't always have to do it
Jan 23 14:36:53 <Inks> it doesn't always add to the game
Jan 23 14:37:19 <Inks> I'm still not happy with the implementation of Judge's Ear, either. It felt really frustrating to use. Having to call out specific phrases in big blocks of text is obnoxious.
Jan 23 14:37:37 <Inks> but i'm glad i was willing and able to use it here nonetheless
Jan 23 14:37:46 <Aleph> yes, heh
Jan 23 14:37:53 <Aleph> that quite possibly saved her life
Jan 23 14:38:21 <Inks> i figured you were pleased that I used it there, yes.
Jan 23 14:40:17 <Inks> The thing about the illusion stuff is...
Jan 23 14:40:26 <Inks> Hmm
Jan 23 14:40:31 <Inks> some of it wasn't meaningful
Jan 23 14:40:50 <Inks> like, I hadn't made the leap from 'Flowers being too pretty' to 'Fae being too pretty' until after the session
Jan 23 14:41:00 <Inks> i mean it makes sense, but it's not quite Actionable.
Jan 23 14:41:08 <Inks> You have a tendency, a stylistic preference, to play the Player, not the dice.
Jan 23 14:41:39 <Inks> that's not a bad thing, but it's worth acknowledging that what you consider obvious pattern recogniztion fodder, other people simply may not grok
Jan 23 14:42:08 <Inks> I am glad Pipera wasn't here, if only for avoiding *her* sass
Jan 23 14:42:34 <Inks> re: Threats, you also tend not to use mechanical keywording like I expect
Jan 23 14:42:39 <Inks> like none of the illusions used MDV
Jan 23 14:42:45 <Inks> ergo, I could not think to use Temptation Resisting Stance
Jan 23 14:46:04 <Aleph> Hmm. Okay, yeah. I'll take that under advice going forward.
Jan 23 14:46:21 <Inks> Some of this is on me for not asking if it uses MDV or not, for example
Jan 23 14:46:32 <Inks> but I generally feel bad to prod you about those things, because you already have alot on your plate
Jan 23 14:46:48 <Aleph> I think the play-the-player mentality comes in large part from my experience as a writer, incidentally.
Jan 23 14:47:06 <Inks> howso?
Jan 23 14:47:08 <Aleph> also from the fact that ES is a dick
Jan 23 14:47:16 <Aleph> It's how I pulled off the twist ending of Game Theory.
Jan 23 14:47:20 <Aleph> I played the audience.
Jan 23 14:48:01 <Aleph> I gave them everything they technically needed to work out what was going to happen, but phrased it and set it up so they thought something else was happening, and then just never contradicted what they thought was going on.
Jan 23 14:48:14 <Inks> yeah
Jan 23 14:48:44 <Aleph> Kansas City Shuffle.
Jan 23 14:48:58 <Aleph> I'm good at it, and it's a con I really like using.
Jan 23 14:49:03 <Inks> so hypothetically inks could have boosted her MDV by 5 or something silly for the *scene*
Jan 23 14:49:21 <Inks> which might've had hilarious consequences
Jan 23 14:49:22 <Aleph> ... god, yes, TRS is bullshit for her.
Jan 23 14:49:23 <Aleph> Sigh.
Jan 23 14:49:31 <Aleph> "Vahti, why are you talking to an empty hammock?"
Jan 23 14:49:36 <Inks> kek
Jan 23 14:49:42 <Inks> i mean it works out well enough for you/the story
Jan 23 14:50:04 <Aleph> yeah, that's kind of the other side of the issue
Jan 23 14:50:44 <Aleph> If Solar "I don't want to play this game" tech like scene-long Judge's Ear is used too much, it can lead to things just... being anticlimaxes.
Jan 23 14:51:12 <Inks> indeed, and there's that constant tug of war of play and counterplay
Jan 23 14:51:20 <Aleph> Where the only way to challenge them is in the combat arena, because in social stuff and intrigue they can just hack through it all and smash everything under Excellencies.
Jan 23 14:51:31 <Aleph> In the combat arena with demon lords and the like, no less.
Jan 23 14:51:33 <Inks> More or less-though it's worth noting re: Judge's Ear
Jan 23 14:51:56 <Inks> that it can infact be contested, the way it's supposed to work is to waive through Mortals, butonce you get into magical liars, it defaults to 'biased rolloff'
Jan 23 14:51:59 <Aleph> Well, not just Judge's Ear. Also things like Righteous Lion Defence, etc.
Jan 23 14:52:11 <Inks> just an example
Jan 23 14:53:27 <Aleph> Can the insiduous corrupter trick you into straying from your path to give his dark master a chance to capture you? As it turns out, no, because you're UBER COMMITTED to getting to the Lost Temple and so ignore his beguiling persuasive comments on what you might find in the ancient caves over yonder. Etc.
Jan 23 14:53:42 <Aleph> I think, hmm
Jan 23 14:53:58 <Aleph> What's the most powerful entity - besides Inks - that we've seen so far in Sunlit Sands?
Jan 23 14:54:01 <Inks> right- but lots of players HATE that, and hate out easy it was to happen in pre-Exalted games.
Jan 23 14:54:09 <Inks> Tekutali, I think
Jan 23 14:54:10 <Aleph> Probably Etiyadi's father, the volcano god?
Jan 23 14:54:33 <Aleph> Or Piercing Sun, I guess.
Jan 23 14:54:42 <Inks> Piercing Sun I think is 'more practically powerful'
Jan 23 14:54:49 <Inks> isn't he like E4 or something, or higher?
Jan 23 14:55:04 <Inks> you'd think that with his injury he'd have the time to raise his Essence
Jan 23 14:55:10 <Aleph> In the Enlightenment system he's probably legit E6.
Jan 23 14:55:27 <Aleph> But yeah, besides that, I've mostly been confronting her with mortals, the odd minor god and a couple of creepy ghosts.
Jan 23 14:55:37 <Inks> Right, and thats honeslty GREAT
Jan 23 14:55:48 <Inks> because mortals are supposed to be the primary thing you rub elbows with in Exalted
Jan 23 14:55:52 <Inks> they're what you give a damn about
Jan 23 14:57:15 <Inks> Do these discussions help you at all? I'm always afraid of being too pokey about them.
Jan 23 14:57:28 <Aleph> They're useful!
Jan 23 14:30:36 <Aleph> 5xp + 1mxp
Jan 23 14:31:47 <Aleph> In her defense, she just spent several minutes watching from the roof while the party split up like idiots chasing private fantasies and then desperately trying to work out a way to snap -her crush- Inks out of it that wouldn't result in the raksha making Inks think she was a horrible wyld monster that needed to be hit with a sword.
Jan 23 14:32:06 <Aleph> (she was unsuccessful at this)
Jan 23 14:32:27 <Aleph> (and was starting to consider resorting to desperate measures when Inks woke up on her own)
Jan 23 14:32:43 <Inks> I figured
Jan 23 14:33:28 <Inks> You're definitely fostering an environment that makes me want to be suspicious of everything
Jan 23 14:33:32 <Inks> pros and cons to that
Jan 23 14:33:38 <Aleph> Anyway, yes, I'm feeling very smug now. How did you find the twist? Did it feel too bullshit, or satisfyingly "yeah, I earned that"?
Jan 23 14:33:55 <Inks> Hmm. Mostly 'Yeah I earned that', you have every right to be smug
Jan 23 14:33:59 <Aleph> ^_^
Jan 23 14:34:01 <Inks> I was definitely thrown off at the beginning like i mentioned
Jan 23 14:34:10 <Inks> but overall it was a good decision
Jan 23 14:34:18 <Inks> it uhmm..
Jan 23 14:34:20 <Aleph> Good to hear. Sorry for the blindside.
Jan 23 14:34:22 <Inks> Yeah, it threw me because I'm... used to there being the question of things like are they present/not present, as being more part of inksgame convention?
Jan 23 14:35:00 <Inks> them Being There as we arrived triggered my 'contrivance' button- the raksha i mean
Jan 23 14:35:07 <Inks> "It's not supposed to be that simple."
Jan 23 14:35:10 <Inks> but that's an irrational response
Jan 23 14:35:16 <Inks> sometimes it IS that simple
Jan 23 14:35:40 <Aleph> Well, in this case it's also that he just doesn't leave much. He's there most of the time.
Jan 23 14:35:48 <Inks> Right, but I had no way of knowing that or infering it
Jan 23 14:35:55 <Inks> you essentially just Told Me by advancing the scene there
Jan 23 14:35:56 <Aleph> Yeah, fair.
Jan 23 14:36:20 <Aleph> Yeah, I think, hmm
Jan 23 14:36:24 <Inks> andI didn't get to feel clever by having an opportunity to capture him outside his place of power- not that it always is gonna be an option!
Jan 23 14:36:39 <Aleph> _I_ knew he was there (and was eager to get to the fun illusion stuff), and kind of forgot that you didn't.
Jan 23 14:36:47 <Inks> now that being said, in defense of your approach, the procedural stuff
Jan 23 14:36:50 <Inks> you don't always have to do it
Jan 23 14:36:53 <Inks> it doesn't always add to the game
Jan 23 14:37:19 <Inks> I'm still not happy with the implementation of Judge's Ear, either. It felt really frustrating to use. Having to call out specific phrases in big blocks of text is obnoxious.
Jan 23 14:37:37 <Inks> but i'm glad i was willing and able to use it here nonetheless
Jan 23 14:37:46 <Aleph> yes, heh
Jan 23 14:37:53 <Aleph> that quite possibly saved her life
Jan 23 14:38:21 <Inks> i figured you were pleased that I used it there, yes.
Jan 23 14:40:17 <Inks> The thing about the illusion stuff is...
Jan 23 14:40:26 <Inks> Hmm
Jan 23 14:40:31 <Inks> some of it wasn't meaningful
Jan 23 14:40:50 <Inks> like, I hadn't made the leap from 'Flowers being too pretty' to 'Fae being too pretty' until after the session
Jan 23 14:41:00 <Inks> i mean it makes sense, but it's not quite Actionable.
Jan 23 14:41:08 <Inks> You have a tendency, a stylistic preference, to play the Player, not the dice.
Jan 23 14:41:39 <Inks> that's not a bad thing, but it's worth acknowledging that what you consider obvious pattern recogniztion fodder, other people simply may not grok
Jan 23 14:42:08 <Inks> I am glad Pipera wasn't here, if only for avoiding *her* sass
Jan 23 14:42:34 <Inks> re: Threats, you also tend not to use mechanical keywording like I expect
Jan 23 14:42:39 <Inks> like none of the illusions used MDV
Jan 23 14:42:45 <Inks> ergo, I could not think to use Temptation Resisting Stance
Jan 23 14:46:04 <Aleph> Hmm. Okay, yeah. I'll take that under advice going forward.
Jan 23 14:46:21 <Inks> Some of this is on me for not asking if it uses MDV or not, for example
Jan 23 14:46:32 <Inks> but I generally feel bad to prod you about those things, because you already have alot on your plate
Jan 23 14:46:48 <Aleph> I think the play-the-player mentality comes in large part from my experience as a writer, incidentally.
Jan 23 14:47:06 <Inks> howso?
Jan 23 14:47:08 <Aleph> also from the fact that ES is a dick
Jan 23 14:47:16 <Aleph> It's how I pulled off the twist ending of Game Theory.
Jan 23 14:47:20 <Aleph> I played the audience.
Jan 23 14:48:01 <Aleph> I gave them everything they technically needed to work out what was going to happen, but phrased it and set it up so they thought something else was happening, and then just never contradicted what they thought was going on.
Jan 23 14:48:14 <Inks> yeah
Jan 23 14:48:44 <Aleph> Kansas City Shuffle.
Jan 23 14:48:58 <Aleph> I'm good at it, and it's a con I really like using.
Jan 23 14:49:03 <Inks> so hypothetically inks could have boosted her MDV by 5 or something silly for the *scene*
Jan 23 14:49:21 <Inks> which might've had hilarious consequences
Jan 23 14:49:22 <Aleph> ... god, yes, TRS is bullshit for her.
Jan 23 14:49:23 <Aleph> Sigh.
Jan 23 14:49:31 <Aleph> "Vahti, why are you talking to an empty hammock?"
Jan 23 14:49:36 <Inks> kek
Jan 23 14:49:42 <Inks> i mean it works out well enough for you/the story
Jan 23 14:50:04 <Aleph> yeah, that's kind of the other side of the issue
Jan 23 14:50:44 <Aleph> If Solar "I don't want to play this game" tech like scene-long Judge's Ear is used too much, it can lead to things just... being anticlimaxes.
Jan 23 14:51:12 <Inks> indeed, and there's that constant tug of war of play and counterplay
Jan 23 14:51:20 <Aleph> Where the only way to challenge them is in the combat arena, because in social stuff and intrigue they can just hack through it all and smash everything under Excellencies.
Jan 23 14:51:31 <Aleph> In the combat arena with demon lords and the like, no less.
Jan 23 14:51:33 <Inks> More or less-though it's worth noting re: Judge's Ear
Jan 23 14:51:56 <Inks> that it can infact be contested, the way it's supposed to work is to waive through Mortals, butonce you get into magical liars, it defaults to 'biased rolloff'
Jan 23 14:51:59 <Aleph> Well, not just Judge's Ear. Also things like Righteous Lion Defence, etc.
Jan 23 14:52:11 <Inks> just an example
Jan 23 14:53:27 <Aleph> Can the insiduous corrupter trick you into straying from your path to give his dark master a chance to capture you? As it turns out, no, because you're UBER COMMITTED to getting to the Lost Temple and so ignore his beguiling persuasive comments on what you might find in the ancient caves over yonder. Etc.
Jan 23 14:53:42 <Aleph> I think, hmm
Jan 23 14:53:58 <Aleph> What's the most powerful entity - besides Inks - that we've seen so far in Sunlit Sands?
Jan 23 14:54:01 <Inks> right- but lots of players HATE that, and hate out easy it was to happen in pre-Exalted games.
Jan 23 14:54:09 <Inks> Tekutali, I think
Jan 23 14:54:10 <Aleph> Probably Etiyadi's father, the volcano god?
Jan 23 14:54:33 <Aleph> Or Piercing Sun, I guess.
Jan 23 14:54:42 <Inks> Piercing Sun I think is 'more practically powerful'
Jan 23 14:54:49 <Inks> isn't he like E4 or something, or higher?
Jan 23 14:55:04 <Inks> you'd think that with his injury he'd have the time to raise his Essence
Jan 23 14:55:10 <Aleph> In the Enlightenment system he's probably legit E6.
Jan 23 14:55:27 <Aleph> But yeah, besides that, I've mostly been confronting her with mortals, the odd minor god and a couple of creepy ghosts.
Jan 23 14:55:37 <Inks> Right, and thats honeslty GREAT
Jan 23 14:55:48 <Inks> because mortals are supposed to be the primary thing you rub elbows with in Exalted
Jan 23 14:55:52 <Inks> they're what you give a damn about
Jan 23 14:57:15 <Inks> Do these discussions help you at all? I'm always afraid of being too pokey about them.
Jan 23 14:57:28 <Aleph> They're useful!
- Pronouns
- she/her
I personally find the Burning Sands much easier to work with.So how soon can we expect you to move on to Continental-US's-worth of s̢̛̩̼̯̝̞̕a̻̞̠̪̟̬̲̗n̛҉̪͕̟̫d̤̞͈̕͢ in the South?
The Hundred Kingdoms initially seems like a blank cheque but there's some scale constraints due to it being what the name says as well as part of the greater near east. For example, there's stuff I did for the Hundred Kingdoms back when Wonders of the Lost Age was the new hotness, that might work for someone's game but I think ultimately felt incongruous with the setting.
So, with the help of the feedback from @TenfoldShields and @ManusDomini, for which I remain very grateful, I tried rewriting the Noble Heavenly Fortress. So here's version 2.0, now with a plot hook and named NPC.
#40 – The Heavenly Noble Fortress
#40 – The Heavenly Noble Fortress
The Heavenly Noble Fortress lies on the eastern rim of the Hundred Kingdoms, one of the smaller polities dotting the landscape. A city built around the eponymous fortress, it has maintained its independence since the days of the Shogunate by virtue of the great and terrible weaponry built into the fortress-manse. Surrounded by larger, stronger neighbours, the denizens of the Fortress are nonetheless able to treat with them all as equals.
But those days may be coming to an end. The noble sorcerers and engineers to whom the responsibility of maintaining and repairing the glorious fortress have of late all perished, in circumstances the Diet has labelled confidential. Rumours abound regardless, with some saying that they were all slain in a summoning gone wrong, others that they committed ritual suicide on a moonless night. Should the manse fail in these turbulent times, a long and proud history may soon come to an end.
As such, the one presiding over the Diet, known as the Maiden Wreathed in Singing Gold, is covertly casting her net far and wide, in the hopes of finding those that might possess the knowledge and power to restore the Fortress before it is too late. Wishing to remain discreet, she is restricting herself to sending out agents and scouts for the time being, for she wishes not for her neighbours or for the public to know how dire things may be. The Maiden knows that the knowledge to repair the manse may well be found in Lookshy or the Realm, but she is unwilling to consider those options save as a last resort.
But those days may be coming to an end. The noble sorcerers and engineers to whom the responsibility of maintaining and repairing the glorious fortress have of late all perished, in circumstances the Diet has labelled confidential. Rumours abound regardless, with some saying that they were all slain in a summoning gone wrong, others that they committed ritual suicide on a moonless night. Should the manse fail in these turbulent times, a long and proud history may soon come to an end.
As such, the one presiding over the Diet, known as the Maiden Wreathed in Singing Gold, is covertly casting her net far and wide, in the hopes of finding those that might possess the knowledge and power to restore the Fortress before it is too late. Wishing to remain discreet, she is restricting herself to sending out agents and scouts for the time being, for she wishes not for her neighbours or for the public to know how dire things may be. The Maiden knows that the knowledge to repair the manse may well be found in Lookshy or the Realm, but she is unwilling to consider those options save as a last resort.
- Location
- my house
Found this is anyone is interested:
[2nd Edition] Revlid's Infernal Monster Expansions - Onyx Path Forums
It's a compilation of all @Revlid s infernal monster charms. Figured I'd like them in case any of these were lost during the white wolf forum purge
[2nd Edition] Revlid's Infernal Monster Expansions - Onyx Path Forums
It's a compilation of all @Revlid s infernal monster charms. Figured I'd like them in case any of these were lost during the white wolf forum purge
Okay, this was hilarious.
Looking forward to the continuation. Here's hoping we can recover Vashti without injury.
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Hahaha, I'm glad you think so! I'm looking forward to it as well!
- Location
- Singapore
Hi guys. Something. Please review
Orvos, the needle doctors
The Orvos is a demon, resembling that of a bald old man, with both eyes blinded, and a hobble. This is an illusion, though. In a pinch, a Orvos can move as fast as a horse, and his sensitive nose and ears work as well for him as sight. His eyes do not detect light. Instead, they detect the flow of essence and life within the veins of living creatures, allowing him to assess their state. Their health, their level of energy, poison, disease, all can be diagnosed nearly instantly, in a single glance. More difficult disease require him to smell them, or to ask them questions about their lifestyle. But generally, it is quite easy. But that is not his main purpose. His main purpose, is to enhance bodies.
The teeth of an Orvos are sharp and needle like, capable of constantly regenerating themselves throughout his lifetime. The saliva of an Orvos acts as both an anesthetic and a antiseptic. Plucking out several teeth from his mouth, the Orvos looks upon the body of the patient. He sees the flow of essence and Qi. He sees how it flows, and how it pools. He sees how it shifts around, and how it pools. He sees the concentrations of Qi in various parts of the body, and in the various portions of the spine. And then, he begins to work.
His teeth contain essence, and are sharp. Inserting them into the patient's body, he stimulates their body and soul, increasing their native attributes and abilities. Stimulating the essence within a man's brain may make him cleverer, wittier, and more focused. While pricking his sternum and the middle of his back, vastly increases his vitality, enabling him to lift a cart or heft a heavy goremaul in a single hand.* Of course, for less important patients, the Orvos can simply do things like increase their resistance against disease, relieve their pain, or enhance their body recovery**
However, such a thing is always fleeting. Within a week, such an effect fades, and the patient has to come back for more. There are limits, however.***
The Orvos has a hatred of professions that use different methods than himself. He gains a point of limit whenever he sees a doctor, surgery tools, or medicinal herbs.
*Training effect, focused upon enhancing attributes instead of abilities. No xp debt, unless its permanent
**Yeah, its acupuncture
***Not sure
Orvos, the needle doctors
The Orvos is a demon, resembling that of a bald old man, with both eyes blinded, and a hobble. This is an illusion, though. In a pinch, a Orvos can move as fast as a horse, and his sensitive nose and ears work as well for him as sight. His eyes do not detect light. Instead, they detect the flow of essence and life within the veins of living creatures, allowing him to assess their state. Their health, their level of energy, poison, disease, all can be diagnosed nearly instantly, in a single glance. More difficult disease require him to smell them, or to ask them questions about their lifestyle. But generally, it is quite easy. But that is not his main purpose. His main purpose, is to enhance bodies.
The teeth of an Orvos are sharp and needle like, capable of constantly regenerating themselves throughout his lifetime. The saliva of an Orvos acts as both an anesthetic and a antiseptic. Plucking out several teeth from his mouth, the Orvos looks upon the body of the patient. He sees the flow of essence and Qi. He sees how it flows, and how it pools. He sees how it shifts around, and how it pools. He sees the concentrations of Qi in various parts of the body, and in the various portions of the spine. And then, he begins to work.
His teeth contain essence, and are sharp. Inserting them into the patient's body, he stimulates their body and soul, increasing their native attributes and abilities. Stimulating the essence within a man's brain may make him cleverer, wittier, and more focused. While pricking his sternum and the middle of his back, vastly increases his vitality, enabling him to lift a cart or heft a heavy goremaul in a single hand.* Of course, for less important patients, the Orvos can simply do things like increase their resistance against disease, relieve their pain, or enhance their body recovery**
However, such a thing is always fleeting. Within a week, such an effect fades, and the patient has to come back for more. There are limits, however.***
The Orvos has a hatred of professions that use different methods than himself. He gains a point of limit whenever he sees a doctor, surgery tools, or medicinal herbs.
*Training effect, focused upon enhancing attributes instead of abilities. No xp debt, unless its permanent
**Yeah, its acupuncture
***Not sure
- Location
- Singapore
Ok. Guys? I've just found the Odyssey fanfic. Is it a good read? Got a summary?
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- Location
- Ottawa
It took me about five minutes to copy-paste it all over and fix some minor numbering errors.
(I kept the one that's technically not in the Hundred Kingdoms).
Hm. On second thought I should go back and add author credit. Can't be bothered to fix up the formatting though.
Why do you expect us to know which fanfic you're talking about?
Actually, even if we knew, why would you expect people here to have read it?
And what does this have to do with Exalted?