- Location
- London, England
Lords of Silk and Stone
The Grey River is the lifeblood of the South East, the great highway of trade upon which the fortunes of a hundred petty kingdoms rest. Convoys of stone and precious metals from the Summer Mountains, fleets filled with exotic woods and spices from the southern jungles and exotic treasures from the far east all ply their way up and down its immense length, and tariffs from their passage fill the coffers of a thousand coastal lords.
Until recently, the southern reaches of the Grey River was dominated by the Shah of Taira, whose expansionist empire united half a dozen patchwork cultures under a single banner and brought some measure of peace and prosperity to the region. But now the Shah's line is all but dead, and in the wake of their passing the land has collapsed into anarchy. Mercenary armies roam the lands, contesting with troops loyal to a multitude of petty fiefdoms, and with every passing year the dream of peace and unity grows ever-more distant. For most such a thing is a tragedy, but there are always exceptions to any rule, and in a disunited Taira some cannot help but see the rich gleam of opportunity...
The Cadet House of Jades is one such vulture. Built from half a dozen familial lines united by blood and common interest, the House has ruled over their Satrapy of the same name for many years now, bringing great wealth to their distant Imperial sponsors in exchange for the power and supplies to maintain their hold over the local tribes. They are a proud, fractious lot at the best of times, as oft divided as acting in unison, but between their mountain fortress-towns and the blood of the dragons that flows in their veins, their power is undeniable. They have long competed with Taira for a share of the river's wealth, and with their old rivals collapsing into civil war they sense opportunity for great wealth and prestige, if they can but find a way to seize it for themselves...
It is in such troubled times that our story begins, as a sworn brotherhood of young dragon-blooded come into possession of the keys to an ancient temple on the river's banks. Seizing such a treasure will make their names and secure a place of power and prestige for themselves within the ranks of House Jades, but it is far from a safe undertaking. The temple is reputed to be a dangerous place filled with many dark secrets, and even should they emerge victorious there are any number of covetous rivals who might seek to take it from them... but they are Exalted, and if they can find a way to work together then there is no challenge which they cannot eventually overcome.
Come, then, and let us share the tale of their deeds...
Introduction
Welcome, one and all, to my game of Exalted 3rd Edition. This is a Dragon-Blooded game using @Crumplepunch's excellent A Clutch of Dragons homebrew, and will be run primarily over Discord at times and days to be confirmed.
Article: Timing wise, I was thinking of running the games on Saturday as a reliable schedule, spacing out side-scenes and character interactions as and when needed (I'm on Discord most days and generally free in any given afternoon). I live in the GMT timezone, so you might want to consider posting your availability in the thread to start with.
The mechanics of character creation can be found in the core Ex3 rulebook and in the Clutch of Dragons pdf, but I'm more interested in character concepts and group relationships at this stage. Therefore, along with the basic idea for your character I would like to see the following:
Who are your kin? – House Jades has numerous other Dragon-Blooded in its ranks, as well as more than a few mortals (and semi-mortals) that have obtained some measure of power and authority for themselves. I'd like three supporting characters from each of you to help me fill out the ranks of the wider house. These don't need to be very long – a name and a couple of lines of description will do for each – but I want something to build on. They might be friends, enemies, family members or anything else besides.
What does the House want? – House Jades invests in any number of resources and potential advantages, from mines filled with white jade to archeological expeditions to the ruined dominions of the Dragon Kings. From each of you I would like one resource that the House either has or is looking to secure right now, which can serve as a future plot hook or complication in the story to come. Something interesting and evocative is ideal, but again I don't need a huge library of stuff to work from.
And finally...
Why are you involved? – The basic premise of the game is that you all know each other, and have decided to band together in order to secure a valuable old ruin from the time of the Shogunate for the glory of your name and House. It is therefore important that your character has something useful to contribute to the expedition (even if it's just "I am really good at killing monsters") and is the sort of personality who could reasonably be brought in on this sort of thing. If you can successfully secure the site then the wider House is likely to let you keep it, and might even be willing to help you develop it, but the question remains – why do you want this?
@EarthScorpion's write-up of Taira can be found here, if you want to have an idea of the local geography and politics.
That should be everything, so without further ado... let's see some character concepts!
House-Rules
Craft requires only one ability, which can be applied to anything appropriate for your background in a similar fashion to Lore. Branching out is treated as buying a new speciality dot.
