- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Sunlit Sands - An Exalted Campaign (Discussion)
- Thread starter Shyft
- Start date
-
- Tags
- exalted (white wolf)
Fair.
And speaking of Hinna, that's probably something you should look into.
Eventually.
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Hinna's ded. And Tatters/Pipera pretty thoroughly disassembled the 125 Sins Brotherhood in Gem at least, with Rankar not far behind.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Something both unspeakably terrifying and unquestionably awesome is my guess. Lunar Exaltations are used to much more... change than the Solars, so they'd probably weather it better. Maybe just form a new Caste instead of the entire Exaltation being changed?
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The Lunar would be twisted into a dark and monstrous thing; a Lunar tainted by the rot and decay of the Underworld, bent and reshaped into a Creature of Death by their pitiless captor. They would step out of the Monstrance as a dark moon; a bloody avatar, a deathly horror with naught on their mind but the subjugation and sacrifice of all that lives or has ever lived.
Then they'd get bored of that and discard the Creature of Death mutation and go have a drink and maybe dinner at a nice little teahouse somewhere.
Luna has a foot in every realm, guys. "Native of X" is something they can apply or remove easily. You can't make permanent changes or corruptions to something that can reshape itself as a casual Misc action - Lunars aren't brittle in the same way that Solars are.
Then they'd get bored of that and discard the Creature of Death mutation and go have a drink and maybe dinner at a nice little teahouse somewhere.
Luna has a foot in every realm, guys. "Native of X" is something they can apply or remove easily. You can't make permanent changes or corruptions to something that can reshape itself as a casual Misc action - Lunars aren't brittle in the same way that Solars are.
Sunlit Sands: Session 30-32
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
I rather liked the visit with the Torchkeepers, the medical drama was very entertaining. I'm curious as to whether Xandia reading the same book Inks saw Priscia with was a stunt by Xandia's player to subtly signal their affiliation, it seems like the sort of thing a brainy social character might do, both to feel out Inks a bit more and as an oblique show of appreciation.
Also, a shame on not keeping that vine. It seems like it could have had some interesting properties if investigated.
Also, a shame on not keeping that vine. It seems like it could have had some interesting properties if investigated.
You might want to drop a link to Inks' current character sheet in this thread. Just put it under Informational threadmarks.
It'll help keep track of her current charms and stats; I'd totally forgotten she'd picked up a bunch of other Medicine charms.
That said, I was quite taken by the medical scene.
I'm generally fond of Inks doing the whole magic doctor thing, in part because a lot of people underestimate the sheer impact of someone who can put critically ill people on their feet in hours.
Given the general state of Age of Sorrows healthcare, I suspect patronage of the Torchkeepers is a major source of soft power for Xandia. And it almost certainly is one for Inks, given her training of doctors in Gem.
And especially given how she fixed Elemi.
If nothing else, that probably convinced a bunch of influential people that keeping Inks near at hand might have future health benefits. Kinda surprised it hasn't come up yet, with sick nobility.
It might be worth considering that investing resources in setting up some sort of free clinic in Gem might serve as a passive generator of a goodwill buffer among the general population. Which will help immunize against negative whispering campaigns by interlopers, and serve as a source of additional plothooks.
I will point out that by RAW, the rules for teamwork are
In the case of Xandia's waifu, given that Inks presumably has Medicine 5, she could have had 5 assistants for a +5 bonus.Core pg 125 said:
This does have RL correlation, where a modern operating team is typically comprised of a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a nurse anesthetist, an OR nurse, a surgical tech, and a physician assistant. Residents, medical students and medical device company reps may also be present and assisting.
PLOT HOOK
-Coxati dam in Xandia territory.
-Shogunate ruins geometry similarity to El Galabi
-Pipera's concern about Inks' lack of preparation for a conventional Dead invasion
EDIT
She's living in a home with an inquisitive tiger girl of around six or seven.
Some things are entirely too dangerous to hold on to for the level of benefit you're likely to get by hanging on to them.
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Also a potential source of Cult.
A deliberate misreading of your statement leads us to "get rid of the inquisitive tiger girl", which amuses me. I'll also point out she's got something in a secure containment unit that gives magical radiation poisoning, which is also, uh, unsafe.
-politics re: unified Coxati & the Despot of Gem, helping to unify
-building up a library in Gem worthy of being a national asset as well? (speculation on my part)
-sand ship sail with thaumaturgy woven in
Is there something inherently magical about the torch the Torchkeepers, er, keep? Or is it significant for mostly cultural reasons?
But the vine is biological.
Much more rigorous requirements than an Essence-token. Sunlight, water, soil, air....all the things you won't find in a solid metal strongbox. Even the lab she ...acquired isn't really set up to handle something like this that's fairly maleficient but entirely mundane biology.
Ironicall, Inks would have an easier time confining it if it was magic.
-Yeah possible. Also Celestial politics, depending on which god that dam's portfolio falls under.
-More understanding the battlefield before attempting to beard a 2-or 3-CD equivalent Dead thing in it's lair.
Nothing magical, no.
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Whew! Thank you @Slamu and @uju32 for your input- you both asked a lot of good questions and raised a lot of insightful points. And yes, I will post Ink's character sheet either as part of the top post or as a new post.
I am a huge fan of Solar Medicine and the tropes it entails, and I won't lie, @ShaperV 's Time Braid was a big influence on how I view supernatural medicine and how people interact with it in a setting. Further, Medicine is one of the most well-developed sub-systems in Exalted 2e, so I was equally interested in being able to explore that- even if a lot of Magical Healing intentionally waives or skips it for demonstrative purposes.
Unfortunately due to HAM being revised about 4 different times until Aleph and I found a version we liked (as of Session 50), most of the Training that's previously happened will be retconned or quietly updated in the background. I wince every time it comes up though as a lot of missed opportunities.
So yes, I want to set up a clinic, free or otherwise, and to train more doctors. And to develop more of a Cult- because a lot of Sunlit Sands is based on 'Things Shyft Was Not Allowed to Do In Exalted'.
@Aleph and @EarthScorpion are helping me fill out some of the Solar charm tree with... I hesitate to say improved but 'Modernized' versions of Solar staples like HAM and the like, which play nicer with the Strategic Action houserules we're using as well as Minor Artifice/Thaumaturgy and so on.
The thing about Teamwork, is that there are two kinds of teamwork- Full and Limited, and then both versions are capped by two factors- your Ability Rating, and how many people can feasibly assist you. I 100% agree that a doctor should have a team of nurses and assistant surgeons, but the limitation would be how many people can actually fit in the surgical space. I at the time ruled for myself that Inks +2 people was the most, and maybe an appropriate Style would let more nurses/aides join in, but that hadn't materialized yet.
Fortunately I have two custom charms that will start solving those problems, I'll post them in a bit.
Here's the thing about the Torchbearers, and one of the underlying thematic statements that Aleph and I believe about Creation: Everyone is Magic. Magic is Science. Not obnoxious rationalist science, but 'This is a thing people know and investigate and it's not people scrabbling in ignorance'. Mechanically, the 'representation' of magic is as Aleph describes it, along the span of your dice pool and your tools/materials.
Like, thaumaturgical medicine may take say X dice, usually more than 10d. At a mechanics level, under that model, the system doesn't care where the dice come from, so long as they have them for every interval required. Ergo, Joe Mortal can't do thaumaturgy unless their relevant Ability+Attr+Style+Tool pool is X or better. They might get lucky and chance onto a thaum-tier working, but it's Hard.
Now an Exalt can just turn on an Excellency and shed motes to do the same thing- feature, not bug. Secondly, as discussed in the kerisgame threads and elsewhere, the point is to defray 'magical crafts' out from the long awkward artifice rules into more generalized things- and for stat sticks and so on to be Minor Magical Materials. This is also why the game dispenses with things like Perfect Tools and Stacking Tool Specialties- you can have 1-2 specialties, 3 with thaumaturgy, but they're all independent and may not overlap. Your sword can't be +3 Swording, it has to be +1 slashing, +1 'from Behind' and +1 'from the shadows'
Additionally, the prototype Thaumaturgy crafting we're testing out is basically 'Thaum crafts are Tools with Mutations, and purchased accordingly'. You'll see more of that being demo'd around Sesssion 42-44.
Which finally leads me to the Torchbearers- they are likely all skilled mortal doctors and pharmacists, with dicepools around 8-9d before tool bonuses, which means they can consistently succeed on thamuaturgical treatments and pharmacology. In practice they have about the same level of training and experience as actual modern doctors, something about 6-8 years in just education, or the Age of Sorrows equivalent. They're magic, in the same sense that a master bladesmith is magic, or a wizened accountant is.
Inks's medicine pool is 12-13d before stunting or tools, and she can crank that up to 22d. Or, more tellingly, eat 5 points of Difficulty or Penalties.
I am a huge fan of Solar Medicine and the tropes it entails, and I won't lie, @ShaperV 's Time Braid was a big influence on how I view supernatural medicine and how people interact with it in a setting. Further, Medicine is one of the most well-developed sub-systems in Exalted 2e, so I was equally interested in being able to explore that- even if a lot of Magical Healing intentionally waives or skips it for demonstrative purposes.
Unfortunately due to HAM being revised about 4 different times until Aleph and I found a version we liked (as of Session 50), most of the Training that's previously happened will be retconned or quietly updated in the background. I wince every time it comes up though as a lot of missed opportunities.
So yes, I want to set up a clinic, free or otherwise, and to train more doctors. And to develop more of a Cult- because a lot of Sunlit Sands is based on 'Things Shyft Was Not Allowed to Do In Exalted'.
@Aleph and @EarthScorpion are helping me fill out some of the Solar charm tree with... I hesitate to say improved but 'Modernized' versions of Solar staples like HAM and the like, which play nicer with the Strategic Action houserules we're using as well as Minor Artifice/Thaumaturgy and so on.
The thing about Teamwork, is that there are two kinds of teamwork- Full and Limited, and then both versions are capped by two factors- your Ability Rating, and how many people can feasibly assist you. I 100% agree that a doctor should have a team of nurses and assistant surgeons, but the limitation would be how many people can actually fit in the surgical space. I at the time ruled for myself that Inks +2 people was the most, and maybe an appropriate Style would let more nurses/aides join in, but that hadn't materialized yet.
Fortunately I have two custom charms that will start solving those problems, I'll post them in a bit.
Here's the thing about the Torchbearers, and one of the underlying thematic statements that Aleph and I believe about Creation: Everyone is Magic. Magic is Science. Not obnoxious rationalist science, but 'This is a thing people know and investigate and it's not people scrabbling in ignorance'. Mechanically, the 'representation' of magic is as Aleph describes it, along the span of your dice pool and your tools/materials.
Like, thaumaturgical medicine may take say X dice, usually more than 10d. At a mechanics level, under that model, the system doesn't care where the dice come from, so long as they have them for every interval required. Ergo, Joe Mortal can't do thaumaturgy unless their relevant Ability+Attr+Style+Tool pool is X or better. They might get lucky and chance onto a thaum-tier working, but it's Hard.
Now an Exalt can just turn on an Excellency and shed motes to do the same thing- feature, not bug. Secondly, as discussed in the kerisgame threads and elsewhere, the point is to defray 'magical crafts' out from the long awkward artifice rules into more generalized things- and for stat sticks and so on to be Minor Magical Materials. This is also why the game dispenses with things like Perfect Tools and Stacking Tool Specialties- you can have 1-2 specialties, 3 with thaumaturgy, but they're all independent and may not overlap. Your sword can't be +3 Swording, it has to be +1 slashing, +1 'from Behind' and +1 'from the shadows'
Additionally, the prototype Thaumaturgy crafting we're testing out is basically 'Thaum crafts are Tools with Mutations, and purchased accordingly'. You'll see more of that being demo'd around Sesssion 42-44.
Which finally leads me to the Torchbearers- they are likely all skilled mortal doctors and pharmacists, with dicepools around 8-9d before tool bonuses, which means they can consistently succeed on thamuaturgical treatments and pharmacology. In practice they have about the same level of training and experience as actual modern doctors, something about 6-8 years in just education, or the Age of Sorrows equivalent. They're magic, in the same sense that a master bladesmith is magic, or a wizened accountant is.
Inks's medicine pool is 12-13d before stunting or tools, and she can crank that up to 22d. Or, more tellingly, eat 5 points of Difficulty or Penalties.
Inks's Character Sheet
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Here's Inks's character sheet! There may be some updates pending Session 51+
Sunlit Sands: Inks - Twilight Solar
Sunlit Sands: Inks - Twilight Solar
Is this cult likely to be in the form of "everyone bow to the picture of
To clarify I'm not actually disagreeing with you, simply bemoaning the fact that I'm not.
Cue Inks going "Damn it man, I'm a doctor not a [example]" and Pipera reminding her that she is also a [example].
...Inks is working on becoming a genius billionaire playgirl philanthropist isn't she?
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Inks is more of a... well, I don't really know how she'd react to or found a cult in her name- but as far as her grasp of Creation, she doesn't hew to the overly mystic tones of things. So maybe?
And no, Inks is not Bones- but she is in fact very much Antonia Stark in concept- and like I said last page, Inks is deliberately meant to be Tony Stark/Bruce Wayne, not their superhero alter egos.
Essence 4.
Dodge DV = 0.5*(Dex 2 + Dodge 1 + Specialty 0 + Essence 4), rounded up, or Dodge DV4.
DMDV = 0.5*(Willpower 10 + Integrity 4 + Essence 4) = DMDV 9
Looking at her stat sheet, she isn't exactly optimized for combat, but she's still moderately scary.
And I've always had this mental picture of her as being squishy...
No Enemy Castigating Solar Judgement ? When you intend to deal with Dead things, infernal influence and Raksha?
That seems suboptimal.
Inks playstyle would also get a lot of mileage out of Phantom-Conjuring Performance, but that requires Performance 3.
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
ECSJ is definitely on the list, but I have so many things tobuy. And thanks for catching that re: Essence, I haven't really needed to update most of the sheet since Essence 4.
Sunlit Sands: Session 33-35; Year 2: Season of Fire, Calibration, Season of Air
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Session 33-35 - Note that Session 34 was posted via a google doc, so it's formatting is gonna be different and less consistent. I apologize for any confusion.
I'm trying to decide if 'both parties fail to notice one another' would have been a more amusing resolution to the ambush. Also, disgruntled kitty is disgruntled at losing out on his prey. Alas, poor Maji, to serve is to suffer.
On an unrelated note, I'm glad to see Venus continues to smile on Inks. The diplomatic conference was pretty neat, though it makes me contemplate what high powered negotiations among Dynasts look like. "Ninjas at dawn" as the opening gambit, surely.
On an unrelated note, I'm glad to see Venus continues to smile on Inks. The diplomatic conference was pretty neat, though it makes me contemplate what high powered negotiations among Dynasts look like. "Ninjas at dawn" as the opening gambit, surely.
By RAW stunt dice add directly to DV. They're not rolled.
Core pg 124 said:
Scroll of Errata pg 9 said:
-Getting jumped by assassins on that route indicates they had agents in either Xandia's court, or Etiyadi's.
They're unlikely to stop there. You might want to consider better home defenses. Before someone drops a bunch of elementals on your townhouse.
-What are the odds Rankar had an agent in the caravan?
Or just got them drunk enough to talk about where they visited? And simply hasn't mentioned Inks' visit to Moto because nothing came of it? Because competent despots don't let Sunchildren wander for several months without a minder.
-Moto's ill. I wonder what sort of illness a dude with access to sesseljae couldn't handle. Possibly a curse of some sort?
His hands have to be particularly filthy for Pipera to be so insultingly blunt; she approached Inks despite the belief she might be a demon. Which speaks volumes.
A little surprised Inks did not follow up on that.
PLOT HOOKS
-Roadside Assassins. You were supposed to get a proper appraisal of their weapons in Gem. And the implications of a high Resources anti-Solar cult with spies in the courts of the Cotaxi, on-call assassins, the ability to send messages faster than landspeed, and call on elental support?
-The Essence tokens you acquired: Artifact reagents. 2 dot Transformative Armor components?
-Susili Moto's demon friend. And illness.
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Yeah, that was pretty fun. When it happened, @Aleph was just beside herself laughing. It's worth noting that Aleph's been spoiled rotten (in the fun way) by how competent Keris, mechanically speaking. Inks is bluntly not vastly superior to mid-tier mortal opposition or hazards meant for well- mid tier heroic mortals.
The diplomatic conference I think was one of the best parts of the Coxati Arc, second only to the Wyldstorm itself.
All good points re: Moto. For good or ill the Coxati region is far away, and until I take the plunge for sorcerous travel, narratively speaking. I'd have to look at the Map of the Region again for a ballpark, but with Trackless Region, it'd probably be a week or two trip one way, to get back to Moto's land for a followup.
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
And chapters 36-38! Getting closer to fully up to date.
Cobalt and mercury. Not the best metals you want in a restaurant.
And I'll note that both metals are neurotoxic. And Moto seems to have some sort of neuropathy.
Inks didn't bother to summon a couple of immaterial taskbound demons as additional bodyguards before venturing into Cahzor. Which would have been the risk-averse option, given Pipera's comments about the Deyha.
On first reading I completely missed the Past Life flash that Inks had on seeing Cahzor's fountain.
It suggests that she has history in this region, and Etiyadi's dad might actually have recognized her Exaltation when he seemed to be babbling. Lady might not have headed to the Gem area by accident.
Inks' getting thrashed by a fifteen year old beast girl and her pet is the kind of thing her Circle would give her shit for all of time. If she had a Circle, that is, or anything like a friend that's a peer.
The fact that Tatters was sleeping in a shielded room strengthens my suspicion that the artow/javelin in her chest is an arcane link for tracking purposes.
PLOT HOOK
Eztli's invitation via the shrieker cult
Chaos vine sample
Stranger at the door of the townhouse
Sunlit Sands: Session 39-41
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
Baron of Pale Gardens sounds like a Deathlord name. But Deathlords don't often walk the Earth. So nemissary.
But a nemissary would not get a hand on an Abyssal.
So back to Deathlord.
Rankar possibly having an informant in Inks caravan makes his showing up to a private meeting wearing a crown and with a sorceress in tow in a different light. And the fact he only brought one sorceress, not two, suggests he didn't think the risk too high.
The fact that he raised House Najjar's attempts to undercut her businesses immediately after discussing Moto looks like a subtle warning in hindsight.
Hinna's workshop could probably use some extra magical security if you have a maybe hostile Dead 2CD in the vicinity.
Going to note that you might keep the ability to create water springs in your pocket.
In the event you need to smooth over some unpleasantness, a gift to Rankar might be in order. He does hold the water monopoly IIRC.
PLOT HOOK
Anamranthra
- Location
- Gladstone, OR
As mentioned back in the Exalted thread, we're using the broad strokes Underworld stuff that @EarthScorpion wrote, so rivers of the dead, lesser/greater dead, yidaks, etc.