- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Yeah, but the closest my circle has to a ranged fighter is the sorceress, and she's also a White Reaper Stylist, so she fights at close range up to and including when casting her spells.
General Exalted Thread
notthepenguins
Neither Spherical Nor Frictionless
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Did none of them take Iron Raptor Technique/Sandstorm Wind Attack/Blazing Solar Bolt? Weird.
In Kerisgame, while Keris does tend to run up to enemies shouting "meep meep" and then stab them repeatedly, I do actually frequently use range bands.
That's because I effectively model giant enemies as collections of objects, and for things like the massive spider-legged fae princess living in a volcano in a wyld zone, she was large enough that her legs, torso and head were all their own range zones along with things like the volcano walls and the magma below - and her sweeping attacks hit everything in a range zone.
That's because I effectively model giant enemies as collections of objects, and for things like the massive spider-legged fae princess living in a volcano in a wyld zone, she was large enough that her legs, torso and head were all their own range zones along with things like the volcano walls and the magma below - and her sweeping attacks hit everything in a range zone.
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Not a one. The only Meleeists are the Night (who only has cursory Melee and sinks everything into Stealth) and the Zenith, who will probably get there eventually but hasn't yet.
Quelaag did nothing wrong!
Also the Night was staring into the evil well when that happened. Also the Night could have more Thrown Charms but do you know what is more important than Thrown? More Stealth!
Bahumat
One Badass Overlord!
Having played a Day Caste, I can't fault his reasoning. People can't hit you if they can't see you. If Ketchup Kejack decides to ruin your day well, go outside fate and hide like a mofo.
This is hilarious because he actually has that as a Defining Intimacy: "The best defense is the one where they can't find you."
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So if Exalted had a mass combat system worth a damn, what would you guys think of the idea of Formation Charms? That is to say Indian/Chinese mythology battle formations for armies worth of people?
Would those be thematic or does it seem a bit silly?
Would those be thematic or does it seem a bit silly?
Salty
Shadow Cabal Assumptor Supreme
- Location
- Sun, Moon, Talia
- Pronouns
- I/Me
Depends on what you want them to do. Are they buff charms? Do they introduce a rock-paper-scissors type thing? Do they just produce effects or attacks?
notthepenguins
Neither Spherical Nor Frictionless
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
Something analogous to Form-type Charms you apply to your battle units would be cool.
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
On the note of mass combat- as dumb as a lot of it is in practice, there are a LOT of interesting mechanical gems buried in the 2e system that have lots of potential, but nobody notices.
Like, you are on paper supposed to relay orders with flurries, so your unit sends to unit 2, to unit 3, all the way down the chain. That actually changes a LOT of tactical considerations.
But, like a lot of things with 2e subsystems, you never notice these nuances.
Like, you are on paper supposed to relay orders with flurries, so your unit sends to unit 2, to unit 3, all the way down the chain. That actually changes a LOT of tactical considerations.
But, like a lot of things with 2e subsystems, you never notice these nuances.
Bursting Eagerness Soul
Threadwalking Rating Machine
- Location
- Wisconsin
Aaaand now I'm imagining a War-based Martial Art. God only knows how that would work.
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
It wouldn't.
War based sorcery yes.
Different kinds of war charms for each splat yes.
But not a martial art
Carrnage
Human
- Location
- New Zealand
i could sort of see it, a martial art that you initiate an entire platoon in and they all move with a sync that is uncanny exploit openings their comrades make and cover each-others weaknesses far better than what a mortal army should be able to do.
Tiger Legion style or something like that.
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
That's what Tiger Warriors and Dragonblooded are
That sounds like Roman legions, or the guys from Codex Alara taken to the nth degree...very Exalted actually.
Carrnage
Human
- Location
- New Zealand
And why not a martial art? Tiger warrior training doesn't make your students able to fight as a singular organism with no breaks in their sync even as their numbers change plans are derailed and command structures are cut off in the tides of bloody melee in short it doesn't actually make your soldiers capable of anything that is actually supernatural, dragon blooded will be far better at the niche it fills but they are far better at everything tiger warriors do and yet tiger warrior training exists.
Sucal
The Devil’s Cut
- Location
- Bottom of the barrel
No Tiger Warrior training doesn't do that.
Thats what OTHER war charms are for.
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm leaning towards the Form Charms idea essentially. I'd assume they'd be maintained through morale or order checks and they'd probably be a combination of rock paper scissors and buffs.
In addition, it might be cool to have them be capable of unique effects due to how the formation shapes essence flow through the army. I was thinking something like terrain/environmental penalties.
Something like "The general's all encompassing knowledge of the essence flows allows him to channel ambient motes into searing heat and sunlight emanating from his army." Course, that may or may not be stepping on Sorcery's toes.
Hmm.
Though I know a lot of people have problems with Martial Arts, I think it could be pretty cool to use something like them to represent different schools of strategic thought.
Last edited:
- Location
- Brittany, France
- Pronouns
- He/Him
You know what? I like that idea a lot.
New Concept: Formation Charms
The Formation keyword indicates a Charm which enhances a battlegroup under the direct control of an Exalted character, granting passive bonuses. All Formation Charms are scene-long, and require the user to be monitoring the battle and ordering their troup - although they need not lead from the front or take part into the fighting. Although an Exalt may sustain several Formation Charms to enhance different battlegroups, only a single Formation Charm can apply to one group at the same time. Many Formation Charms have a 'requirements' entry; this lists limits on the applicability of this Charm, such as the nature of troops on which it can be used.
(insert rules about how different Exalt groups interact with Formation Charms when I have figured them out, for now assume these are Solar-only)
Iron Tortoise Formation
Cost: 5m; Mins: War 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Formation
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: ???
Requirements: The majority of the troops must be equipped with a shield.
The tactic of the shield wall is one of the most ancient in Creation, having known many incarnations throughout all cultures and ages. With Essence fastening their resolve and bolstering their shields, soldiers present a unified front, allowing them to withstand enemy charges and push back against their disorganized ranks.
This Charm removes the Initiative cost of the Full Defense action, allow the unit to use the Defend Other action in a flurry without suffering a Defense penalty (the normal -3 penalty to rolled actions still applies), and adds +1 to the unit's Parry. Once per scene, the unit may perform the special Snapping Turtle Maneuver; this is a flurry consisting of a full defense and rush action that suffers no penalty to dice pools or defenses, allowing the unit to quickly cover ground under fire.
Scarlet Throne Formation
Cost: 8m; Mins: War 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Formation
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: ???
Requirements: Unit's commander must lead from the front or from among his own men, fighting alongside them.
The armies of Creation know the might of the Exalted, but they know also that one rarely conquers an entire country by one's sword-arm alone; the most powerful of the Exalted lead vast armies across the world, and they draw power from the trust of their men. When they see their warrior-hero fight at their side, their bravery is the stuff of legends.
A unit enhanced by this Charm adds one automatic success to any rout check as long as their commander is within sight; they add one success to their commander's Rally and Rally for Troops actions. Whenever the commander issues an order (as per the action, Exalted p. 210) and the unit acts accordingly, it adds one automatic success to its action on top of the normal benefits of the action. Once per scene, the unit may perform the special Heaven's Throne Maneuver; this is an attack which takes place on the same tick as their commander's action, even if the unit's Initiative is lower, and which can take place either before or after that action as is most convenient; any dice roll gains a number of bonus dice equal to the commander's wound penalties, as they rally to rescue their divine leader. This counts as their turn's action.
Broken Blade Formation
Cost: 6m; Mins: War 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Formation
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: ???
Requirements: The majority of the unit must wear no more than light armor, and be fighting unarmed, with brawling aides, staffs or improvised weapons.
Although even the mighty martial artists of the Immaculate Order prefer to fight with arms and armors when given the choice, sometimes they are not allowed such luxuries. Although their formation may seem loose - even disorganized - and they usually operate in small groups, such martial artists are highly mobile and fiercely skilled.
This Charm allows the unit to ignore the penalties for difficult terrain, and to not have to take a disengage action to move away from opponents of Size equal to or inferior to their own. Furthermore, their Drill can never be lower than average, as there is commonality in the training of all martial orders even when their members have never fought together before. Once per scene, the unit may perform the special Steel Shards Storm maneuver; immediately after lowering an opponent's Initiative from above their own to below with a successful attack, they may pay one Willpower to perform a second attack at a -3 penalty against that same opponent.
Thunder of Hooves Formation
Cost: 7m; Mins: War 4, Essence 2
Type: Simple
Keywords: Formation
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite Charms: ???
Requirements: The majority of the unit must be riding mounts.
The horse-born armies of the South are among the most feared of Creation, as many nomadic cultures ride across the lands as if all the world belonged to them, taking anything by force and being gone before any response can be organized. They are often peerless archers too, raining death on their opponents while riding to the horizon.
A unit enhanced by this Charm may aim and move in the same round. Whenever such a unit moves to either keep pace with an opponent it has succesfully rushed, or to keep away from an opponent from whom it has succesfully disengaged, it may reflexively aim against that opponent. Once per scene, upon succesfully rushing an opponent or disengaging from them, the unit may perform the special Steppe Hurricane maneuver, paying one point of Willpower to reflexively make an attack against that opponent.
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yep, this is pretty much what I was imagining. Thank you.
EDIT:
This might sound really out of theme and weird but I think it would be cool if Dragonbloods could have access to the most powerful Formation Charms, equal to Solars. The catch is that every soldier in the unit has to know the formation for them to be a able to use it.
Like, I haven't thought through the implications of that idea at all, I'm just throwing it out there.
Last edited:
This was the issue I ran into when I started making War expansion charms. There's a lot of untapped design space, but I suspect a lot of it was reserved for the Dragonblooded.
Lealope
Not yet invincible
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Mmm.
I do like the idea that Dragonbloods might actually have better War Charms than Solars. It gives them a nice niche that I think is appropriate for their roles as soldiers.
However, if every single Dragonblood needs to know the Charm for it to function, then it shows that Solars are better leaders on larger scales. Indeed, I like this because it encourages a Solar to delegate to his Dragonblood lieutenants.
Ultimately, I feel like it would be nice if Solars were strategy oriented vs the Dragonblood's tactics orientation. It shows that the strength of a Solar formation comes from the Solar's individual excellence at leading their army but the strength of a Dragonblood formation comes from their solidarity.
EDIT:
This is nice because this shows how Dragonbloods are incredibly effective at not only working together but also training together. Their efforts build upon each other to create these powerful synergies.
Like, the power of these Dragonblood is that, when a hundred of them put in the hours to train and learn these Charms, the end result is better than a lone Solar putting in his singular effort because their efforts can stack with each other. And I think that's how it should be.
EDIT:
If Exalted had a system for resolving large projects, it might be nice if Formation Charms could apply to those too to represent the benefits of their structure and organisation. I think these types of Formations would probably come under Bureaucracy or something.
I do like the idea that Dragonbloods might actually have better War Charms than Solars. It gives them a nice niche that I think is appropriate for their roles as soldiers.
However, if every single Dragonblood needs to know the Charm for it to function, then it shows that Solars are better leaders on larger scales. Indeed, I like this because it encourages a Solar to delegate to his Dragonblood lieutenants.
Ultimately, I feel like it would be nice if Solars were strategy oriented vs the Dragonblood's tactics orientation. It shows that the strength of a Solar formation comes from the Solar's individual excellence at leading their army but the strength of a Dragonblood formation comes from their solidarity.
EDIT:
This is nice because this shows how Dragonbloods are incredibly effective at not only working together but also training together. Their efforts build upon each other to create these powerful synergies.
Like, the power of these Dragonblood is that, when a hundred of them put in the hours to train and learn these Charms, the end result is better than a lone Solar putting in his singular effort because their efforts can stack with each other. And I think that's how it should be.
EDIT:
If Exalted had a system for resolving large projects, it might be nice if Formation Charms could apply to those too to represent the benefits of their structure and organisation. I think these types of Formations would probably come under Bureaucracy or something.
Last edited: