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General Exalted Thread

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Sapphite said:
I've made some changes to my Parhelion Caste write-up that I posted a while back. Mostly added a bit to the description and altered the Anima Effects. Any thoughts?

Members of the Parhelion Caste are all united by their need to understand the world around them. They are chosen for their questioning nature, and unwillingness to turn a blind eye to the difficult landscape of the soul. The Mirrors of Heaven are not permitted to be solipsistic hermits, though; the only way to understand the mysteries of the world is to interact with it, to examine its peoples, and scrutinize their ideals. They must then go forth and share their hard-won insights with the world.

Reflection comes naturally to the Parhelion Caste. By spending five motes the Exalt can mentally relive any of his memories with perfect clarity. Though this only takes a Miscellaneous action, he can revisit an entire scene's worth of memories, slowing or speeding up the experience as desired. The Exalt can't change anything about the memory, but this does allow him to re-examine events to learn things that slipped his notice the first time around. Valid rolls include Awareness checks to observed previously-missed details, or Socialize checks to understand emotional nuances subtle enough to miss.

The illuminated minds of the Parhelion Caste are well fortified against the lesser arguments of lesser men. By spending 10 motes the Solar adds his (Essence) to his Dodge MDV and his Parry MDV for the rest of the scene. This effect comes into play automatically on the Solar spends 11-15 motes of Peripheral Essence.
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It's an improvement, I like the expansion to the anima power so that it does more than makes them better at ignoring other people.
Wish I had the creativity with 2e mechanics that I once did, I've got ideas for how I'd represent introspective wisdom vs. booksmarts in Ex3 but unsure how I'd translate it back.
 
Reading Scavenger Sons is an odd experience for someone like me who only ever read the 2e core. Not even completely through it yet, but already just the fact that the Bull of the North is a plot hook instead of an established setting conceit is kinda trippy but in a good way.
This also makes me wonder what exactly 1e says about the loss of the Tepet Legions. Any book elaborates on that?
 
BlueBiscuit said:
Reading Scavenger Sons is an odd experience for someone like me who only ever read the 2e core. Not even completely through it yet, but already just the fact that the Bull of the North is a plot hook instead of an established setting conceit is kinda trippy but in a good way.
This also makes me wonder what exactly 1e says about the loss of the Tepet Legions. Any book elaborates on that?
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The caste splat books talk about it in various ways, and I think the DB source book does.

Bull of the North's circle get writeups in the caste books, particularly him and Samea, and several of the dragonblood example characters are Tepets, fought against the Bull in that battle, or are making political maneuvers in general based on the destruction of the Tepet legion.
 
I've been poking around demon summoning for a 2E celestial exalt, and stumbled upon the beauteous wasps' hurry home, which has no elaboration. They have no noted sanctum. What use is it? All I can figure is that it returns them to the point in creation where they were summoned. Is this useful somehow?
 
Sydonai said:
Maybe it's keyed to their rider?
That seems like something the "serving as someone's mount is my Motivation" demons would have.
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That would be useful! Might discuss that with an ST. Hurry Home just lists domain, sanctum, gate of Yu-Shan, or point they entered creation.

Though "my rider" may well fall into "Domain," now that you mention it.
 
Portal—An agata in flight can open a portal from its current location to another aerial location that it can see up to 30 miles away

The thing about Agata is, they can create a portal within line of sight in the air. For thirty miles. And portals?

Portal
Costs: 8m, 1wp, Mins: Essence 3, Type: Simple
Keywords: Obvious, Shaping
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite charms: None
Source: The Books of Sorcery, Vol. IV — the Roll of Glorious Divinity I (p. 157)
The spirit summons a door to its sanctum or domain, which appears within (Essence x Conviction) yards of the spirit and lasts up to a scene. The spirit may only use this Charm within (Essence x Conviction x 5) miles (note from me: for agata E&Conv. scores, this is thirty) of the destination. Characters cannot be moved through a portal against their will (with the exception of portals created through the Banish Charm, see p. 156).

Given the range matching the base template provided, I think it is clear that the Agata have the basic version of this charm! Thus, their "sanctum or domain" is the sky, or at least what they can see of it. The issue is, well...

Hurry Home
Costs: 5m, Mins: Essence 2, Type: Simple
Keywords: Obvious
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite charms: None
Source: The Books of Sorcery, Vol. IV — the Roll of Glorious Divinity I (p. 142)
This Charm dematerializes a spirit and teleports it instantly to a place within the spirit's domain, its sanctum, the nearest gate to Yu-Shan or the point where the spirit entered Creation. A spirit must be dematerialized or be able to dematerialize to use this Charm. Hurry Home follows all Relocations guidelines (see p. 156).

With HH being cheaper in terms of motes and willpower, and with lower essence costs, it's pretty clear that the Agatae aren't intended to use HH as an if-we-can-see-it longer-ranged teleport. I tend to just say HH functions only in the case of a locked-down sanctum being established; the agata being attuned to a manse, or having a temple with a cult to allow it to reincarnate. I like the idea of it being keyed to a rider, but it's not where my mind goes naturally when "sanctums" are a thing gods have, and demons have cults build secret temples to worship them from and resurrect them in times of need.
 
Well, "the point the spirit entered creation" is a thing they have. Arguably, by wording, the nearest gate to yu-Shan also applies, but I suspect that's not meant for demons or elementals.

It doesn't dematerialize its rider when it uses Hurry Home, so even if it does teleport anywhere it can see in the sky, it does so alone. Not sure that justifies such a broad interpretation of "home" even so, though.


A slightly different query: reflexive charms only usable in combat steps say what step they are used on. Is that prescriptive, permissive, or both? Obviously, you can't use a step 2 reflexive charm on step 3, but can you use a reflexive charm with no step listed mid-resolution, or must you wait for resolution to be done?

In particular, halting the scarlet flow is reflexive. Can you use it as you take damage to heal it instantly (at a cost of 2m per lethal health level), or must you wait for it to apply and heal it afterwards? This is relevant for cases where the damage would knock you out or kill you: if you can heal it as you take it, you're fine (albeit down motes); if the damage must resolve first, though, you go unconscious or die before you can activate the charm to save yourself.
 
Segev said:
Well, "the point the spirit entered creation" is a thing they have. Arguably, by wording, the nearest gate to yu-Shan also applies, but I suspect that's not meant for demons or elementals.

It doesn't dematerialize its rider when it uses Hurry Home, so even if it does teleport anywhere it can see in the sky, it does so alone. Not sure that justifies such a broad interpretation of "home" even so, though.


A slightly different query: reflexive charms only usable in combat steps say what step they are used on. Is that prescriptive, permissive, or both? Obviously, you can't use a step 2 reflexive charm on step 3, but can you use a reflexive charm with no step listed mid-resolution, or must you wait for resolution to be done?

In particular, halting the scarlet flow is reflexive. Can you use it as you take damage to heal it instantly (at a cost of 2m per lethal health level), or must you wait for it to apply and heal it afterwards? This is relevant for cases where the damage would knock you out or kill you: if you can heal it as you take it, you're fine (albeit down motes); if the damage must resolve first, though, you go unconscious or die before you can activate the charm to save yourself.
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Personally I sorted out that ambiguity by giving the lunar regen charms the Action-Only keyword. https://docs.google.com/document/d/...AIYl1cy50KEw2y75o/edit#heading=h.lu9ml2mqc858 Healing yourself while unconscious seems reasonable, but if you want to shrug off a hit that would kill you outright you need other charms, such as Unstoppable Juggernaut Incarnation or Luna's Fortitude.
 
Backer pdf is out. Lilith is fucking ripped and Ma-Ha-Suchi is 👀

Overall I'm seeing decent improvements. But I need to finish reading it before I can give all my thoughts.
 
MiracleGrow said:
and Ma-Ha-Suchi is (eyes)
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I... have no idea what to make of that emoticon in this context.


Poking around mutations, do Quills seem ridiculously underpowered for a Blight to anybody else? They can be used in unarmed attacks or "launched like darts," and make punches deal +1L damage with accuracy +1, rate 3, and a launch range of 15 yards. The one die to parry is...odd, but really means +1/2 to parry DV. And they do 3L to anybody trying to grapple the mutant. You can stack it (more blights!) for increased damage.

I'm guessing this stacks with punch damage, but does the "launch like darts" make your punches ranged? If your unarmed attacks have special properties (e.g. from Wood Dragon's Claws, which alter your unarmed attacks), do they add to the quills? What about when launching them?

If it's really just a +1L 15 yard ranged weapon, is that really a Blight's worth of mutation points? Even with the ancillary 3L grappling; almost anything trying to grapple you is going to have more hardness than that from armor.

Or am I underappreciating them?
 
MiracleGrow said:
I'm basically saying he became hot. Also Raski got that big grandma energy in her true human form art.

Either way Falcon MA is untouched and is still amazing on DB's. Thank god
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Did they totally change both Raksi and Ma Ha Suchi's story/character design? Wasn't she supposed to be perma-kid and "cute" until you noticed the highly disturbing aspects (like her palms being backwards), and he supposed to be bestially ugly to an epic degree?
 
Segev said:
Did they totally change both Raksi and Ma Ha Suchi's story/character design? Wasn't she supposed to be perma-kid and "cute" until you noticed the highly disturbing aspects (like her palms being backwards), and he supposed to be bestially ugly to an epic degree?
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She's a Lunar Shape-shifter. Her apperance is a matter of vanity and mood.
 
Segev said:
Did they totally change both Raksi and Ma Ha Suchi's story/character design? Wasn't she supposed to be perma-kid and "cute" until you noticed the highly disturbing aspects (like her palms being backwards), and he supposed to be bestially ugly to an epic degree?
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Ma-Ha-Suchi was only ever "bestially ugly to an epic degree" from his own perspective, IIRC he still had an Appearance above the baseline Human maximum.
It's just that he is "ugly" in comparison to what he looked like in the First Age, when he was literally that one bastard heartbreaker bishie( "The Wolf with Roses" IIRC) whose Motivation was to have sex with every Celestial Exalt in Creation at least once.
edit:
And his mutations don't even negatively effect his appearance, they just clash with his aesthetic. That's it.
Without checking the old book IIRC his permanent mutations were horns, hooves, and a voice that sounds like bells.
 
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greensun said:
She's a Lunar Shape-shifter. Her apperance is a matter of vanity and mood.
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Well, yes and no. She can do that using heart's blood forms, but I thought she had some specific mutations that locked her base form. I suppose she could just have changed her mind about how she wants to present herself.
Sydonai said:
Ma-Ha-Suchi was only ever "bestially ugly to an epic degree" from his own perspective, IIRC he still had an Appearance above the baseline Human maximum.
It's just that he is "ugly" in comparison to what he looked like in the First Age, when he was literally that one bastard heartbreaker bishie( "The Wolf with Roses" IIRC) whose Motivation was to have sex with every Celestial Exalt in Creation at least once.
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And his mutations don't even negatively effect his appearance, they just clash with his aesthetic. That's it.
Without checking the old book IIRC his permanent mutations were horns, hooves, and a voice that sounds like bells.
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Hm, fair enough. I could just be recalling how he is said to view himself.
 
Segev said:
Did they totally change both Raksi and Ma Ha Suchi's story/character design? Wasn't she supposed to be perma-kid and "cute" until you noticed the highly disturbing aspects (like her palms being backwards), and he supposed to be bestially ugly to an epic degree?
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Ma-Ha-Suchi's story, at least, has changed a great deal.

He's no longer pushing the Smash Civilization card. His deal is, in the aftermath of the Usurpation he wanted to have a Lunar Realm oversee Creation and warred against the Shogunate for exactly that. That went nowhere and combined with the whole lot of nothing he could do in the face of the Contagion and the Balorian Crusade and especially with the rise of the Realm has left him bitter and drained out the passion and fire he had against the Shogunate. He still fought the Realm, even if he was kinda phoning it in.

Now with the Empress gone and the Solars back, he's starting to come out of the Nameless Lair(which, thankfully, is no longer written with a rape fetish in mind).

tl;dr: Ma-Ha-Suchi is rocking the Done with Everyone's Shit Bara Wolf Daddy aesthetic.
 
Segev said:
Well, yes and no.
She can do that using heart's blood forms, but I thought she had some specific mutations that locked her base form.
I suppose she could just have changed her mind about how she wants to present herself
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Nope, the thing with Permanent Mutations was that they were permanent, they showed up in every form.
So that definitely isn't a thing with Raksi anymore.
 
Sydonai said:
Nope, the thing with Permanent Mutations was that they were permanent, they showed up in every form.
So that definitely isn't a thing with Raksi anymore.
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That is more in line with what I thought previously, so that makes sense if they changed it. Sounds like they were uncomfortable with some of the lore surrounding the Elder Lunars; I don't blame them.


On Hearthstones and Manses. If Flit the Thief raids your hotel room and makes off with your earrings that are each Hearthstone Amulets, and the Hearthstones therein. (You had them off because you had on a different pair that matched your outfit better at the ball.)

They're still manses to which you're attuned, and Flit doesn't even know where they are, so he can't attune them, the dirty scoundrel. Are you stuck without your hearthstones until he can be hunted down? Or can you go to your manses and do something to break the hearthstones and cause them to return?
 
Segev said:
They're still manses to which you're attuned, and Flit doesn't even know where they are, so he can't attune them, the dirty scoundrel. Are you stuck without your hearthstones until he can be hunted down? Or can you go to your manses and do something to break the hearthstones and cause them to return?
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IIRC you have to either break or retrieve those specific Hearthstones.
If you get them back, that's good.
If they get destroyed, new ones form in the associated Manses.
Otherwise...I think you may be screwed?
 
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It's possible to damage a manse just enough to destroy the hearthstone remotely. Downgrading it by a level (and then doing a hundred man-years of repair work) would certainly be sufficient, something a bit more surgical might be possible with superlative relevant skills. Alternatively, if you have easy access to a manse but the hearthstone bearer doesn't, you could use thaumaturgy to calculate the hearthstone's approximate position - rules for that are in the description of the Five-Metal Shrike. Either way, big project for a minor mortal kingdom, or annoying all-day job for a sapphire circle sorcerer.
 
Sydonai said:
IIRC you have to either break or retrieve those specific Hearthstones.
If you get them back, that's good.
If they get destroyed, new ones form in the associated Manses.
Otherwise...I think you may be screwed?
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strange_person said:
It's possible to damage a manse just enough to destroy the hearthstone remotely. Downgrading it by a level (and then doing a hundred man-years of repair work) would certainly be sufficient, something a bit more surgical might be possible with superlative relevant skills. Alternatively, if you have easy access to a manse but the hearthstone bearer doesn't, you could use thaumaturgy to calculate the hearthstone's approximate position - rules for that are in the description of the Five-Metal Shrike. Either way, big project for a minor mortal kingdom, or annoying all-day job for a sapphire circle sorcerer.
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That's one of the things I thought I remembered. The contrary "any attuned person at the manse can recall it" was also in my head, but sounded wrong to me.

So if somebody steals a hearthstone, it could actually be a serious problem for the manse owners. Even if the thief doesn't have the ability to attune it.
 
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