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General Exalted Thread

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horngeek said:
...I'm actually tempted to commission something from you now, Shyft. *looks at characters I'm intending to play* Perhaps several somethings. /owmywallet

But yes. Not exclusively Asura-inspired, but... well, let's just say that if I ever got this character into a game, the vast majority of her troubles would likely come from an utter refusal to back down. It's always fun when a character has something like that. :D

EDIT: And from trawling Behind The Name, I'm calling her Keahi. :p
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I'm up for that, send me a private message when you're ready.
 
Well, I need to figure out what I want done first. And figure out if I have the bank balance to spare right now. :p
 
You know what? I figure I ought to post the other Exmachina I wrote for Alchemical Solutions.

Opekun, the Wardens of the State

Opekun are large but gentle exmachina tasked with guarding the populat in times when Autochthonia's Chosen are unavailable, serving as a stopgap until help can arrive. If there is a factory fire, the Opekun is there - smothering the flames with its prodigious form. If there is a building collapse, the Opekun is there - lending its immense strength to rescue efforts. If the gates of the city are breached by invaders, the Opekun is there - reinforcing the defenders with its stalwart fortitude.

The Opekun prefers to spend its time when it has no pressing task amongst the children of the populat where it delights in the sounds of their laughter and songs of praise to the Great Maker, or simply resting its great bulk in the middle of a crowded square where it can bask in the serene peace it helps create. Normally docile and melancholy, the Opekun can be moved to terrible fury should any threaten the safety of its charges.

Incapable of speech the Opekun is nonetheless able to communicate a wide range of expressions via the tone of its groans, be it forlorn moans or bellows of rage.

Physically the Opekun is a strange creature. It's base has traits that one would associate with the lowly and harmless Hermit Crab, but the Opekun is anything but that. Massive pillar-like legs jut out from its sides to carry the creature's enormous bulk, these very same legs can be drawn inwards for greater protection, either in defense of itself or another. Aiding in the defense are several bulky limbs used for grasping and manipulating. The servo motors on the ends of these manipulators can rotate at extremely high speeds, which the Opekun uses to tear through wreckage and flesh alike with frightening ease.

Housing all this is the Opekun's core, a strange composite of sheer metal plating bristling with sensory towers and antennae. Despite the Opekun's fearsome appearance children love to play around and on it, scaling its towering frame to use it as a play fortress. Its metal plating serving as imagined castle walls, its sensory towers and antennae minarets.
 
Khepri said:
....I can't believe I never thought of that, Thank you Es.
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Note - I am not saying she should look like an MP Eva. That's shallow and dull. There's at least as much Angel of Death from Hellboy II in how she appears.

But a recurring thematic motif? Enough that when they'll show up, they'll be symbolically twisted, lesser versions of her? Man-made monsters, when she is a human who's made herself into a monster? That's a useful narrative technique.
 
horngeek said:
I'm also not sure if she's the Lunar's biological or adopted daughter (yes, I know Scroll of Heroes says that Half-Castes only exalt by their parent's Exalted type, but I'm cheerfully ignoring that). I'd need to look up whether Lunar Half-Castes look any different than baseline human by default...
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You learn something new every day. I thought solar and lunar did not pass exaltation through blood line so having a solar or lunar parent had no impact on if you exalted into one of those.
 
Aldon said:
You learn something new every day. I thought solar and lunar did not pass exaltation through blood line so having a solar or lunar parent had no impact on if you exalted into one of those.
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Scroll of Heroes Pg 110 said:
It is completely unheard of for a Half-Caste to Exalt as a different type of Chosen than his parent. Caste may differ, but the marks of destiny in the character's blood has pledged her to the service of the Unconquered Sun, Luna, the Maidens or the Yozis even before she was born, and this cannot be changed.
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The punchline of this joke is 'lolScrollOfHeroes'. If I make this character following the 'biological child of a Lunar elder', she's always going to be marked quite visibly- most people will likely think she's a remarkably human-looking example of a Beastman- but I'll definitely ignore that passage precisely because blood doesn't impact who can receive a Celestial Exaltation.

I do, on the other hand, like the idea that having a powerful Celestial Exalted parent impacts someone who would otherwise have been purely mortal and grants them lesser abilities that run along a similar theme, although I personally think full Solar/Lunar Charm access is too powerful.
 
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horngeek said:
The punchline of this joke is 'lolScrollOfHeroes'. If I make this character following the 'biological child of a Lunar elder', she's always going to be marked quite visibly- most people will likely think she's a remarkably human-looking example of a Beastman- but I'll definitely ignore that passage precisely because blood doesn't impact who can receive a Celestial Exaltation.

I do, on the other hand, like the idea that having a powerful Celestial Exalted parent impacts someone who would otherwise have been purely mortal and grants them lesser abilities that run along a similar theme, although I personally think full Solar/Lunar Charm access is too powerful.
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Spirit Charms themed around the sun or moon, yo. Like an elemental or god-blooded.
 
EarthScorpion said:
Note - I am not saying she should look like an MP Eva. That's shallow and dull. There's at least as much Angel of Death from Hellboy II in how she appears.

But a recurring thematic motif? Enough that when they'll show up, they'll be symbolically twisted, lesser versions of her? Man-made monsters, when she is a human who's made herself into a monster? That's a useful narrative technique.
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Oh I know. A White-Jade skinned monstrosity with colossal wings feathered in white and black, eyes set out in occult pattens in the inside of the wings, staring out at the world with hate and malice.

Its body is clearly female, well proportioned in all of the right places and muscled in a pleasing manner. The beauty is ruined by its hunched over, predatory posture, and its gangly limbs . The abomination's clawed and its taloned feet scraping along the ground as it prowls towards its prey.

I'm a little stuck describing her her head though, on one hand the serpentine head from the MP-Units is both really freaking scary and inhuman looking and cool, but it also sticking too close to the MP-Units as a whole.

On the other tentacle, it is far more horrifying to see a human face's jaw distend and devour a a screaming monster.
 
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Obviously you should split the difference and give her an alabaster void split only by a pair of tiny, feminine lips where they would normally be on a human.

...And then when things get crazy her whole face splits vertically because that's how her actual jaw is aligned and she eats people.
 
Salty said:
Obviously you should split the difference and give her an alabaster void split only by a pair of tiny, feminine lips where they would normally be on a human.

...And then when things get crazy her whole face splits vertically because that's how her actual jaw is aligned and she eats people.
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And yoink.
 
I personally would go with "no face at all," in the fashion of Dark Souls' Prowling Demons. Like there was a head once, but it was shattered, conveying the idea that even this terrifying god-beast form is not whole, and that it could be much more.
 
Opekun, cont.
=> As a side note, before I go further: those who haven't seen me talk about this in the Alchemical Solutions thread, I would be very interested if you guys could try and guess the originating idea behind this exmachina. This will at least give me a hint if I'm getting the theme right. And, as always, suggestions for improvement (such as how to express the tactics below in a more fluffy way, or charm suggestions) are always welcome. Anyway, onwards!

[continued from before]
Champions stationed in population centers for long periods of time would be wise to cultivate friendly relationships with the local Wardens, as all Opekun are designed to support and enhance Autochthon's chosen. Of course, the Opekun's impressive physical stature most greatly benefits those that favor more intellectual or social pursuits, or simply don't have time to visit the Vats to swap their charms to deal with an immediate threat.

Notable charms: 2nd Athletics Excellency, Ride, Dematerialize, Divine Prerogative ([Populat or subgroup of populat] of [City or population center]), Material Tribulation Displacement, Sheathing the Material Form, Principle of Motion, Measure the Wind.

Niche: The Opekun is supposed to be a caretaker of the Autochthonia's human population. Where a Gezlak would be assigned to protect a certain location, the Opekun would protect a certain population or group. The Opekun is also not a physical threat the way a Blood Ape or Gzlak is - it is much more defensive in nature, designed to hold out against superior opponents until more reinforcements can arrive. Kicks the shit out of mortals, but then again what doesn't.

Tactics: Opekun prefer to take Defend Other actions unless it's able to defeat the threat without endangering its charges. However, if it only needs to defend one individual or if one of Autochthon's Chosen is present the Opekun will use Ride to even the odds. The Opekun's Ride charm operates on slightly different parameters - it always dominates incomplete unions with mortals (even when it has a lower essence score than an enlightened mortal), but Autochthon's Champions have the choice of whether to take control of an incomplete union or not.
 
So, I was reading Waves of Winter, and started thinking about unusual demons. Most of my ideas would probably need GM rulings on them, so I won't bring them up, but I did have one idea that I want to actually discuss.

How would you build a Martial Artist Decanthrope? They're body-snatchers, but each of their bodies has its own Essence score and pool, and I don't think any of the Decanthrope's Charms are used to enhance actions the bodies make.
 
beowolf said:
How would you build a Martial Artist Decanthrope? They're body-snatchers, but each of their bodies has its own Essence score and pool, and I don't think any of the Decanthrope's Charms are used to enhance actions the bodies make.
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The decanthrope knows a Terrestrial Style based around ganging up on a smaller number of victims. Co-ordinated attacks, grapple-and-hold, distraction and onslaught penalties. All his bodies can use these Charms because they're his puppets, and these are universally-learnable techniques. He fights like Virus Smith in the Burly Brawl.
 
How should I stat a wire-using martial artist with the lowest Essence possible ? Should I do a God-Blooded, scion of a god of Weaving, Cord-making (or Shibari), with the ability to change the proprieties of a any wire he touch (making a wire cutting when slashing, then not cutting when trying to clinch) ? Maybe a Terrestrial Martial Art...
 
Jiven said:
How should I stat a wire-using martial artist with the lowest Essence possible ? Should I do a God-Blooded, scion of a god of Weaving, Cord-making (or Shibari), with the ability to change the proprieties of a any wire he touch (making a wire cutting when slashing, then not cutting when trying to clinch) ? Maybe a Terrestrial Martial Art...
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Check out Live Wire Style from MoEP: Alchemicals, refluff it to fit in Creation.
 
Jiven said:
How should I stat a wire-using martial artist with the lowest Essence possible ? Should I do a God-Blooded, scion of a god of Weaving, Cord-making (or Shibari), with the ability to change the proprieties of a any wire he touch (making a wire cutting when slashing, then not cutting when trying to clinch) ? Maybe a Terrestrial Martial Art...
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Kinky. :p

But yes, Live Wire Style is the best method here, and is even Terrestrial.

Although it doesn't actually give the ability to do lethal damage.
 
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