Remove ads

Green Sun, Black Shadows (CG/Exalted)

Reader mode
Krain said:
Talking about Deva, yeah.
Would rather like it if roads and buildings and everything like that could be built with deva support, since it'd be much easier than mortals working on it.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

1. Mortals need jobs. We're going to be ruling over them, remember?
2. Producing devas takes time and effort. It would take a long time to build up a sufficient workforce that way.
3. Charms to enhance mortal efforts are a lot more efficient for the time period of the quest we'll be dealing with. For instance IIRC Ta'akozoka has a Charm that lets your organization get the mechanical benefits of slave labor without the drawbacks, with the benefit going up as you pay your workers more.
 
Enjou said:
1. Mortals need jobs. We're going to be ruling over them, remember?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Basic Income Guarantee.
If they want to do some activity, take up some hobby or give us worship, thus increasing our Cult rating.

2. Producing devas takes time and effort. It would take a long time to build up a sufficient workforce that way.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Was thinking of inventing some good mechanic for increasing their numbers.

3. Charms to enhance mortal efforts are a lot more efficient for the time period of the quest we'll be dealing with. For instance IIRC Ta'akozoka has a Charm that lets your organization get the mechanical benefits of slave labor without the drawbacks, with the benefit going up as you pay your workers more.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That's fair enough, though.
 
Krain said:
Basic Income Guarantee.
If they want to do some activity, take up some hobby or give us worship, thus increasing our Cult rating.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

No. That's... I... do you even understand basic economics? No offense, but this is seriously a dumb suggestion.

It's not in any way sustainable to do such a thing until MAYBE you reach First Age levels of economy and technology, and even then I don't believe they did that in the First Age. People still had to work. And they'll be worshiping us even if they're working.

Was thinking of inventing some good mechanic for increasing their numbers.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

The mechanic for how devas/demons made is set. They have a birthing ritual or some other condition. Said condition has to be met. For the devas born of Titanic Spawn Uncountable that requires a thematically appropriate birthing ritual that takes a minimum of four hours. This is how devas/demons have been born since before Creation was made. It just won't scale in any decent time for this quest, and it's not really something the player should be able to work around by inventing a new mechanic.
 
maybe a foreman deva then? play off of zeros role as a leader, and spawn a deva that greatly enhances a team of laborers under its direction. Either making them better, or letting them do work that they don't normally have the skills for.
 
Last edited:
random_npc said:
maybe a foreman deva then? play off of zeros role as a leader, and spawn a deva that greatly enhances a team of laborers under its direction. Either making them better, or letting them do work that they don't normally have the skills for.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

That's not generally something a deva/demon can do, I think. Like I said, Exalted Charms are better for this. The Ta'akozoka set has a Charm that lets the user get the mechanical benefits of slave labor without actually using slave labor (so doesn't have the drawbacks), and Dragonblooded also should have Charms that help with this kind of thing.
 
Enjou said:
The Quest Archive Forum would be more appropriate - lots of quests maintain their rules and info sheets there. I also suggest spreading out the sheets, maybe five per post, as editing one post over and over again would get difficult with 50 sheets.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Thanks for the tip.
Enjou said:
Ok, since we came up with a deva for one of our souls, I figured we should come up with one for another. I basically used the Baidak as a template, and modded them a bit to be not total automata and be Essence 3. The write up could possibly use some work, but I think this is generally what we'd have in mind for an Anesidoran combat deva.

Aldozati, the Rowdy Sacrifices
Devas of the First Circle,
Progeny of the Exuberant Genius


When Anesidora considered the baidak created by Sigereth, she saw the wisdom in creating an army of disposable pawns. However, she could not bring herself to simply copy the idea wholesale, for the Empty Pawns were easily deceived and lacking in initiative. Also, their lack of personality made them extremely boring. Thusly she attempted to create a better piece to serve as the foundation of her forces, and from those efforts were born the aldozati.

The aldozati are physically mechanical, but they possess their own spirit and will. They appear as soldiers whose armor and weapons are made of a black material that has properties of both metal and stone with accents of brass, also wearing a fur mantle. These devas are extremely loyal to their progenitor, and consider it the highest honor of all to die for her in battle knowing their sacrifice will serve Anesidora's plans.

While on duty they are extremely well disciplined, but in their free time the Rowdy Sacrifices will seek to enjoy themselves by acting as many soldiers do when off duty. They will play games of chance with dice or cards, arm wrestle, boisterously tell stories, and other such things. Sometimes they will even pretend to eat and drink, even though they physically are unable to do so, simply going through the motions by eating imaginary food or drinking non-existent ale from an empty mug. They will even go so far as to feign drunkenness. Mortal soldiers often find their antics amusing, and as such will happily invite an aldozat to join them.

Aldozati reproduce by playing chess using pieces made from black iron and brass. At any point during this ritual if there are no pawns on the board then the game must be started anew. After four hours of play, the pieces will melt and the material will coalesce in a display of Essence to form the newborn aldozat.

Motivation: To fight and eventually die in battle in the name of Anesidora.
Attributes: Strength 6, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2, Perception 2, Intelligence 2, Wits 3
Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, Valor 5
Abilities: Archery/Firearms 3, Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, Integrity 5 (Obedience to Anesidora +5), Linguistics 3, Martial Arts 3, Melee 3, Presence 1, Resistance 1, Ride 1, Sail 1, Thrown 3, War 3
Backgrounds: Backing (Anesidora) 1
Charms:
Call - Other aldozati
Essence Plethora - 10 extra motes
Materialize - Costs 65 motes
Ox-Body Technique (x2)
Spirit-Cutting
Tracking - The Aldozat tracks those to whom its summoner or Anesidora has committed motes
Second (Ability) Excellency - Archery, Dodge, Integrity, Martial Arts, Melee, Resistance, Thrown, War
Join Battle: 6
Attacks:
Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 6B, Parry DV 5, Rate 3
Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 9B, Parry DV 3, Rate 2
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 7, Damage 6B, Parry DV —, Rate 1, Tags P
Fine Black Ironstone Sword: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 6L, Parry DV 3, Rate 2
Fine Black Ironstone Tower Shield: Speed 6, Accuracy +0, Damage +1B, Parry DV 6, Rate 1, Tags: M, Sh2
Fine Black Ironstone Rifle: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 8L, Range 200, Rate 2, Ammo 6, Tags 2
Soak: 12L/12B (Metal and stone body, 10L/8B, Hardness: 5L/5B)
Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
Dodge DV: 5 Willpower: 10 (0 against Anesidora)
Essence: 3 Essence Pool: 90
Other Notes: None

SOLDIERS OF ANESIDORA
Description: These traits represent a scale of aldozati soldiers.
Commanding Officer: Varies. A normal aldozati may lead if nothing better is available, but they will eagerly follow an allied superior officer.
Armor Color: Black and brass
Motto: "We Die Exuberantly!" in honor of their progenitor. When they need to communicate during battle, they often do so silently using their Call Charm.
General Makeup: 25 aldozati armed with swords, shields, and rifles. For larger forces, the Storyteller should increase the unit's Magnitude.
Overall Quality: Elite
Magnitude: 2
Drill: 5
Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 4 Ranged Attack: 4 Ranged Damage: 2
Endurance: N/A
Might: 3
Armor: 4 (Hardness: 2)
Morale: 5
Formation: They typically fight in relaxed formation unless specifically instructed otherwise.




Well, eventually we will reveal our worship of the Yozis publicly so eventually subtlety will definitely be gone, but we definitely shouldn't ignore our mortal resources. We can only summon one deva from our soul per day while in Creation, and the birthing rituals aren't always going to be something the first circles can do themselves with great frequency. (Gardelivs can't just have their competitions daily, for instance) Our custom devas should serve to supplement our efforts more than anything.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Nice idea, I will achieve it.
frozenchicken said:
Or we could use Inner Devils Unchained? Hmm. Alexander89, assuming we created our own Deva species, we should logically be able to create them using Inner Devils Unchained, right? (Assuming we can pay the associated extra costs of the charm, like finding a person who'd willingly become our Deva).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
frozenchicken said:
I've always viewed the difference between Deva and Demon as largely descriptive rather than definitional. Demons are thematically edgier than Devas, but that's because the Yozi are all in a really foul mood from being imprisoned, and thus the myriad creations they've made since are often more sour in note. The only really truly inherent trait of Demons is that they're subject to the surrender Oaths of the Yozis. Since we aren't subject to those Oaths, our souls are called Devas, but they're still Primordial-type Souls. The Yozi are bound not to go creating souls without such bindings, but that seems more 'are bound not to do', not 'definitionally cannot do'.

Still, this is more quibbling than anything else at this point. Prince's idea is a good one and shouldn't take too much effort to create.


Reverance for the Titans
Cost: -; Mins: Essence 3; Type: Permanent
Keywords: Heretical
Duration: Permanent
Prerequisite Charms: Titanic Spawn Uncountable, Inner Devils Unchained

The act of embracing a Yozi's power is painful due to their tortured natures, but the new Primordials represent a much less broken path.

This charm enhances Inner Devils Unchained, allowing it to be used to transform a target into a Deva descended from the User. In this situation, the user may choose to replace the feeling of agony associated with the transformation with one of joyous rapture. Additionally, this provides one free race purchase of IDU, so long as that race is a type of Deva created by the Infernal.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think the real question is finding someone willing to become a Deva/Demon. TED has that Charm because he's a dick: the target is not supposed to be willing.
meianmaru said:
The Difference Between Pearls and Oysters
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Niiiice. +5 Xp for such length and quality.

For next post: it will come out in the next few days.
 
Void Traveler said:
The merchant I can see acting as a fense for the pirate queen, and as a way to funnel money for the Reclamation
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Hmmm... only to a very limited extent, at first. Lukkage is going to be a rather blatant enemy of Britannia, running a naval campaign while also working to replace the local economy with her own nacre coins in order to invalidate competing currency (specifically Britannia's), and she's also a pirate so she knows well how to fence any ill gotten gains. I'd say Lukkage is more likely to interact with Levy - Roanapur, being in Thailand, is much closer to where Lukkage will be operating, and it's a known port for criminals and smugglers of all kinds. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Lukkage has been there. Any connections between Jonathan and Lukkage will more likely be through there.

Jonathan will probably interact with Gabriel more frequently, as both are based inside Britannia. Akhekh as well, most likely, as he'll need to be where enemy Dragonblooded are to experiment, and having someone to help him launder money and/or finance him would be beneficial. Largely I think Jonathan will work best with anyone who is working inside Britannia, especially those who have a public face.
 
Void Traveler said:
The merchant I can see acting as a fense for the pirate queen, and as a way to funnel money for the Reclamation
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Enjou said:
Hmmm... only to a very limited extent, at first. Lukkage is going to be a rather blatant enemy of Britannia, running a naval campaign while also working to replace the local economy with her own nacre coins in order to invalidate competing currency (specifically Britannia's), and she's also a pirate so she knows well how to fence any ill gotten gains. I'd say Lukkage is more likely to interact with Levy - Roanapur, being in Thailand, is much closer to where Lukkage will be operating, and it's a known port for criminals and smugglers of all kinds. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Lukkage has been there. Any connections between Jonathan and Lukkage will more likely be through there.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Well, there is one possible way of funneling resources that could be used on some occasions:

Jonathan: Damn! Those bloody cursed pirates are stealing my shipments again! And on top of that, the last one was full of highly-refined Sakuradite! My Lord, this can't go on. Considering how important our subsidiary shipping company has become to Britannia, I humbly ask you to petition diverting more of the fleet to protect my cargo ships.

And after donating few of his ships and their precious cargo to Lukkage, the Britannia's fleet will pay likely more effort and time to protecting the ships of the Baring family, who seem to be set from all sides by Anathema.

Its a pity that his competitors will suffer from this, as the fleet can't be everywhere at once, making them easier targets for those same foes. But considering how consistently his family is targeted and how beneficial his business is to Britannia, well. Sacrifices have to be made to protect Britannia's greater interests and all that. :p
Jonathan will probably interact with Gabriel more frequently, as both are based inside Britannia. Akhekh as well, most likely, as he'll need to be where enemy Dragonblooded are to experiment, and having someone to help him launder money and/or finance him would be beneficial. Largely I think Jonathan will work best with anyone who is working inside Britannia, especially those who have a public face.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Hmm. I would see him forming Coven with them, and maybe with Neo. He will need a more "public face" for the one who is doing all the leg-work. That being mostly breaking legs of those who don't cooperate. Her partner in crime being a Lunar might be an irratation to Jonathan, at first at least, but it wouldn't stop him from using Roman against the Lunars who are targeting the Baring family.

As for a Slayer, Jonathan wouldn't have anything against more leg-breakers, so... Maybe Ciara Mukade? She is crazy, but he would need her for only killing those he wants removed or that are a threat to him.

But anyway, that would be a potential full coven working inside Britannia, which would be a nice mirror to Lelouch's one working in Japan. What do you guys (especially those who made those characters) think?

Slayer: Ciara Mukade
Scourge: Neopolitan
Defiler: Akhekh
Malefactor: Gabriel Rohawn
Fiend: Jonathan Baring
 
While we're talking about non-Japan based Covens, maybe we could try setting up some ourselves? I mean, Alice, Manami, and Ayane would serve as a Slayer, Defiler, and Scourge for an anti-Abyssal Coven. meianmaru just posted a theoretical Britannia-based Cover. Any other Coven ideas?
 
masterofmadness said:
Don't we have 2 infernals with motivations that require them to be in japan? Akio and that one noble woman I think maybe we should form a second Japanese coven?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Urge, you mean. Not Motivation.

Akio's Urge is "Unite the resistance groups of every Area into a single force (Pyrean)" so he's going to be traveling. Basically, he's going to need to go with a Coven (because no way he's going without handlers) to other Areas and get them to join the Black Knights. Likely he should be with at least a couple social Exalts when it comes time for him go to elsewhere.

Karin's Urge is "To ensure Lelouch vi Britannia's Empire will have a proper hierarchy. (Pyrian)" so she would need to at least check in with Lelouch on occasion. She doesn't strictly need to stay in Japan, just maintain contact and advise him in matters regarding setting up an empire. That said I wouldn't be surprised if she decided it best to stick around.
 
Y'know, Isla might make a decent contribution to the anti-Abyssal Coven, what with her being a Malefector, and the possible synergy between her and Ayane's Urges. Now, who would do decent job as the Fiend member?
 
ReaperofInterest said:
Y'know, Isla might make a decent contribution to the anti-Abyssal Coven, what with her being a Malefector, and the possible synergy between her and Ayane's Urges. Now, who would do decent job as the Fiend member?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Keep in mind that Covens/Circles do not have to be made up of five Infernals of each type, or even five Infernals. The Anti-Abyssal Group can be sent where they need to be sent to back up other Covens. Isla is going to be gathering Celestial Exalts around herself, so she could technically operate without other Infernals as her Circle could have enough Celestial Exalts for that.
 
So, someone said that we should take advantage of our ability affinities and raise Larceny, Bureaucracy, and Socialize to 5. After giving it some thought, it does sound reasonable to me. The first could be of use in future operations, the second could be of use in finding possible targets or dealing with the future cults, and the third would be useful for dealing with people in general. So perhaps we should give that idea some serious consideration? After all, it's not like we don't have the XP to spend.
 
ReaperofInterest said:
So, someone said that we should take advantage of our ability affinities and raise Larceny, Bureaucracy, and Socialize to 5. After giving it some thought, it does sound reasonable to me. The first could be of use in future operations, the second could be of use in finding possible targets or dealing with the future cults, and the third would be useful for dealing with people in general. So perhaps we should give that idea some serious consideration? After all, it's not like we don't have the XP to spend.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

However, Charms are expensive but often more effective at doing what you want to do. There's also the matter of trying to do everything yourself. We will have other Infernals, Dragonblooded, demons, devas, likely Lunars, and possibly other beings of power to help us in the areas outside of our competencies.

I'm not saying we shouldn't increase any of these Abilities, but it should be remembered that Abilities are not what truly separate the Exalted from mortals. If we increase one, Larceny would probably be a really good one since it helps with his uses of Loom-Snarling Deception and makes it harder to see through with magic. Also it should be remembered that we're kind of speccing into combat to some degree, as Lelouch is the type to lead from the front and that puts him in situations where his social splat doesn't help as much as it could. And he's shown interest in learning a Martial Art.

Basically, while we seem to have a lot of XP, we should remember that we always seem to have less of it than we really want.
 
Enjou said:
However, Charms are expensive but often more effective at doing what you want to do. There's also the matter of trying to do everything yourself. We will have other Infernals, Dragonblooded, demons, devas, likely Lunars, and possibly other beings of power to help us in the areas outside of our competencies.

I'm not saying we shouldn't increase any of these Abilities, but it should be remembered that Abilities are not what truly separate the Exalted from mortals. If we increase one, Larceny would probably be a really good one since it helps with his uses of Loom-Snarling Deception and makes it harder to see through with magic. Also it should be remembered that we're kind of speccing into combat to some degree, as Lelouch is the type to lead from the front and that puts him in situations where his social splat doesn't help as much as it could. And he's shown interest in learning a Martial Art.

Basically, while we seem to have a lot of XP, we should remember that we always seem to have less of it than we really want.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
True but we are also going to be managing an empire and that will be much easier with something better than bureaucracy 2 and leading the Althing infernal is going to largely revolve around personal interactions with fellow Infernals which is covered under socialize 2. We are lacking to two major area that we are going to be depending on once the revolt is over and we have to actually manage what we took.
 
masterofmadness said:
True but we are also going to be managing an empire and that will be much easier with something better than bureaucracy 2 and leading the Althing infernal is going to largely revolve around personal interactions with fellow Infernals which is covered under socialize 2. We are lacking to two major area that we are going to be depending on once the revolt is over and we have to actually manage what we took.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Like I said, I'm not saying we can't increase them, just that we shouldn't rush to do so. Lelouch does not have to do everything himself, nor can he. He has allies to help him.
 
Well, how about a compromise between the two points of view: we increase Bureaucracy and Socialize by 1 at the end of every arc until they're both at 5, then we can discuss possible specialties. That way, we increase useful abilities without spending a lot of XP. Does this sound good?
 
ReaperofInterest said:
Well, how about a compromise between the two points of view: we increase Bureaucracy and Socialize by 1 at the end of every arc until they're both at 5, then we can discuss possible specialties. That way, we increase useful abilities without spending a lot of XP. Does this sound good?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Hmm. I would say that leaving Bureaucracy to a what it is now is enough, as Kaguya can probably take care of the matters related to it. However, Socialize and Larceny are something I would like to raise. Especially Socialize, which is at two dots at the moment. Two! And we call ourself a Fiend. Shame on us, though Lelouch does have that Silver Tongue -merit, which makes him a pretty good liar when combined with his four dot Manipulation regardless of the relatively low Ability -score.

So how would raising Larceny from 2 to 3, and maxing Socialize from 2 to 5 when the next opportunity comes sound to you all? Specialty (Lying) could also be a good idea, with Lelouch's double life and all the other deceptions we have going. It also could be good for the case for when we will interact with the non-Malfeas supernatural side in non-hostile setting, like the Lunars in Area 11. I wouldn't want to spill the beans yet about the truth about who Lelouch works or at least about the Infernal Exalted, just because some Lunar uses a Charm that manages to pierce his disguises and spots his Malfeas-nature. (Speaking of which, Eldritch Secrets Mastery. Do we have any plans when to start training it?)

All in all it would cost 12 xp for Abilities and 5 for a maxed out Specialty, making it 17 xp in total. Quite a lot, and actually more than it would seem as we are now out of easy xp by Infernal omakes, but I would say its worth it.
 
Last edited:
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Remove ads
Back
Top