Again, isn't one of the islands the Lunars control in the West doing just fine without the loom in specific?
Through the Ages (Exalted CK2 Style Empire Builder)
- Thread starter Alectai
- Start date
They had to build and maintain their own, at the cost of exalted attention, and it covers a miniscule area compared to what is being affected here.
It's not all that different from working with individual Rakshas IMO.
Daniella_c2
Commie Ice fairy
- Pronouns
- She/Her
As I said, more. If we don't work with the Getimians then if we make it through Chapter 4 then we would actually have the chance of getting sidereals to help us and I'd prefere to try to remake a mini Solar Deliberative and they had the Sidereals serve as the advisors to the Solars.
Besides if we make it through chapter 4 (and let's be honest, I doubt the Gremitians will give any real shits about us until we make it past chapter 4 I bet) then we can have a sidereal serve as our piety advisor which means we would have an person who's normal job is to help Creation and play office politics. We need someone to play office politics in heaven because we are a Solar and an major faction of Sidereals hate us and most of the rest don't care enough to stick their necks out for us. But if we can successfully get a sidereal as our Piety advisor he/she can play office politcs. Whilst the Gretimians don't have any real connections with the gods and the connections they do have are with the weakest gods inmaginable.
So yeah, I'd rather not risk losing sidereal support after chapter 4 for these guys. Even if they don't want to end the world they are far to miniscule an organization to be any real help of us.
Last edited:
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
Guehehehehe this is gonna be fun no matter how it pans out.
- Location
- United States
Exalted by their very nature break fate. Actually if I'm not mistaken all essence-users to a certain extent can. Arguably the easiest and least reality-destroying method to screw fate would be to enlighten as many people as you can and create a society of badassery.
I'll be honest I feel destiny and fate are too closely intertwined in creation to be messed with especially when their already are less potentially destructive ways to do it than war on Heaven. And when it comes down to it I'm not eager to make enemies with the entire Bureau of Destiny if it means potentially getting health, luck, love, victory, etc etc redistributed. Creation isn't perfect but honestly there's enough loopholes to make me feel tearing down the rules is an overly dramatic method to deal with an issue. Honestly speaking, said Sidereal should have just trained his true love in essence use and this whole problem could have been dealt with. But again, I have no idea what 3rd edition has changed. It might be fate is a much more malicious and free will stripping force than it is in 2nd edition.
ReaperofInterest
Herald of Disaster
Regarding factions other than the Realm taking an interest in us, didn't Alectai already say that no-one's going to pay all that much attention to us until after Chapter 4, which is when we will have proven that we're strong enough to survive the Wyld Hunt?
- Location
- Cyberspace
Sweet! No actual failures (a close call and a minimal return from the Treasures), and we've gained some useful things this turn... and will gain more next turn. And unlocked more Learning options with our new grants. And, hell, even if it's not very impressive, another strategic resource (and some more mining income) is quite welcome.
Now, the Wyld Hunt. We have a seasoned leader with three Anathema-shaped notches in his belt (Granted, probably Lunars, but still) - he's unlikely to be easy to deceive, but judging from his background he's going to do things more or less 'by the book'. Him being an Earth Aspect suggests he's methodical in his investigations.
And then we have that really nasty elite combatant. He's going to be a problem, having tremendous experience on hunts for both Lunars and Solars. Now, we do have an advantage in that we've been at it for quite a while - so we're likely to be more experienced and capable then what he's used to.
We do have an advantage in that our guise was manufactured a *long* time ago, that it fits very nicely with the circumstances of our rise and the talents we've displayed. And that a pair of incredibly talented Dragonblooded have been there the entire time.
Now, one question is - "how much do they buy into the view of Anathema". Not in the sense of "are they bad" or the like, but what are they going to be expecting as clues to lead them to their target? Neiya's been, well, sneaky, and we've not gotten in high-level combat for some time.
Certainly they're going to be looking for stories of beastmen and shapeshifters (as a possible track to a Lunar) and investigate stories of someone glowing that's already accounted for (ie, not Dragonblooded. Perhaps not us as well, depending on how well we sell our cover).
To be honest, short of a catastrophe on the Creation side, I expect us to fall under serious suspicion when the Sidereals in Yu Shan start to wonder about our origin and nature (and then likely point the Hunt at us as being suspect) rather then from the Wyld Hunt here being suspicious on their own.
Hmm... amusing thought. There's students of these martial arts styles in the retinue - I wonder if we can pick some of the styles up for our friends in House Cloudrunner?
Now, the Wyld Hunt. We have a seasoned leader with three Anathema-shaped notches in his belt (Granted, probably Lunars, but still) - he's unlikely to be easy to deceive, but judging from his background he's going to do things more or less 'by the book'. Him being an Earth Aspect suggests he's methodical in his investigations.
And then we have that really nasty elite combatant. He's going to be a problem, having tremendous experience on hunts for both Lunars and Solars. Now, we do have an advantage in that we've been at it for quite a while - so we're likely to be more experienced and capable then what he's used to.
We do have an advantage in that our guise was manufactured a *long* time ago, that it fits very nicely with the circumstances of our rise and the talents we've displayed. And that a pair of incredibly talented Dragonblooded have been there the entire time.
Now, one question is - "how much do they buy into the view of Anathema". Not in the sense of "are they bad" or the like, but what are they going to be expecting as clues to lead them to their target? Neiya's been, well, sneaky, and we've not gotten in high-level combat for some time.
Certainly they're going to be looking for stories of beastmen and shapeshifters (as a possible track to a Lunar) and investigate stories of someone glowing that's already accounted for (ie, not Dragonblooded. Perhaps not us as well, depending on how well we sell our cover).
To be honest, short of a catastrophe on the Creation side, I expect us to fall under serious suspicion when the Sidereals in Yu Shan start to wonder about our origin and nature (and then likely point the Hunt at us as being suspect) rather then from the Wyld Hunt here being suspicious on their own.
Hmm... amusing thought. There's students of these martial arts styles in the retinue - I wonder if we can pick some of the styles up for our friends in House Cloudrunner?
Which is what Alectai said.
Besides how about we check what any potential faction would have to offer, yeah?
We don't even know all the details, except what Alectai has said here regarding the expanded view on the Getimians.
We've been told there are pros and cons to every option - so going "oh I bet that the Getimian in question wouldn't actually be willing to do anything, so there is only cons while no pro" doesn't make much sense.
Also, Getimians DO have connections with Heaven.
It's part of the reason there's a shadow war going on there.
Personally, though?
We are not guaranteed to survive Chapter 4, so let's not spit at any faction and call them miniscule, k?
Better a bird in the hand than 2 in the bush and all that.
(Besides if they were irrelevant then they wouldn't be able to do their mission, part of which is to give Sidereals more to do... so from a narrative point of view, they should be a pretty big deal)
- Location
- United States
Hilariously it might be rather easy. The Immaculate faith literally preaches that becoming Dragon-blooded is not just a matter of breeding but of spiritual superiority. Thus, the Cloudrunners by their nature of being Dragon-blooded are already morally superior beings. If one of them were to approach one of the students and ask for instructions while saying they were interested in learning more about the Immaculate faith which they have tragically been unable to learn about in this backwater hellhole, said students would probably jump at teaching then at least the basic Immaculate styles. The only thing they'd have to deal with is senior students telling them condescendingly that they won't be able to learn the more advance forms until they've further enlightened themselves and progressed down the superior Immaculate Order ideals.
That is a fair enough point, it really depends on what said person offers and wants. He might just ask to open up a school and teach essence use to people to make them outside fate and I can't see us refusing to be honest.
Last edited:
I don't. They will use it to pump them for info, and they likely have far better Intrigue than our Dragonblooded.
Daniella_c2
Commie Ice fairy
- Pronouns
- She/Her
@Krain I didn't mean that the single Getimian wouln't help us but the matter of the fact is it's only...one...guy. Whilst they have a lot of sidereals and it's possible by working with the guy we lose the potential option of working with a sidereal in the future (I admit, hearing about the sidereals has made me really want to play as one of them so I may be a bit bias but they sound so cool as an group) and whilst the Getimians have allies I bet their allies are the gods who basicly are stuck at the bottom of the totem pole and think their best way of getting more power is to work with these guys because I doubt any gods with any actual power would be willing to work with them. So as I said, the only connections they have is with the weak gods.
Hm, point...
Nevermind then.
They have dissident and outcast gods, which is apparently enough to start a shadow war.
And Alectai's said we won't be made to pick a side even with this - of course if we did I'm still more inclined to go with the one that gives us aid to survive the upcoming shitstorm.
But we won't.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Essentially, in my Creation, the question you ask is "Do I want legitimacy and the favor of the weavers of Fate, at the cost of them not really being amazingly invested in you in particular, and being heavily socialized to do What Must Be Done, for better or worse.", or do you want "A wildcard who fucks up The Plan for better or worse simply by existing, but doesn't have a whole lot of legitimacy tied to them or the might of Heaven".
Last edited:
Daniella_c2
Commie Ice fairy
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Eh I prefere the legitimacy of the weavers of Fate. Exspecially since they are into 'What Must Be Done' kind of thinking. I can respect that a great deal. Exspecially in a world like Creation which is constantly in danger and they are they primary guys making sure it doesn't implode in a fire of death and destruction.
Last edited:
The devs had mentioned at one point that the Thousand Dooms are no longer a thing, so there shouldn't be nearly as many existential threats to Creation as there were in 2E. (Gem is still doomed though.)
Elderhood is reaching the grand age of 100 years. It's at that point you can understand more of Creation and reach a higher state of enlightenment. That does not mean you automatically will, because you still need to meditate on the matter. Exalts can pull out some pretty bullshit powers at far lower Essence levels too.
Like 'I just parried a nuke going off in my face with a butter knife and I'm completely fine' level of bullshit.
Essence is also not your character level. Greater power often requires greater enlightenment, that's certainly true, but outside of a small number of derived stats and rolls that are affected by your Essence rating its only benefit is that it allows you to buy more Charms.
That's nice, but I'll note that their 'What Must Be Done' kind of thinking combined with pigheaded arrogance is responsible for plunging a world that was in many ways better off than Earth is right now, and no worse off in all the others, into a decline that now sees bronze working as the pinacle of technological sophistication.
- Location
- United States
That's a very fair point. My view is mostly that in a world where if not enough roads and trade is conducted on the edge of creation, reality itself will fold over, a certain amount of bureaucratic oversight seems inevitable.
Especially since the more extreme versions of "What Must be Done" could be mitigated by solving The Great Curse which we would have to solve anyway in order to keep ourselves from becoming a corrupted version of our virtue. In the short-run though it's too hard to say what we'll do until we actually meet this guy and sees what he wants. He might be on the "reformist wing" of his faction or something and has decided to make fate obsolete by creating a world where everyone is taught essence-use or something. Diminishing fate as a factor in creation can be done in hundreds of ways. It doesn't need to be murder Heaven although that is the easiest way in all likelihood.
No we don't. The Great Curse is not some inevitable Doom that will invariably corrupt us if not fixed.
I suppose there's no reason not to wait and see, but, in light of Alectai's statements on the matter, I'd be very surprised.
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
But that's exactly what it is.
- Location
- Cyberspace
Hey, now, I object to that slander. Compared to the First Age, what we've got now is garbage. But it's only rustic barbarians (like us) that basically suffered an extinction event who have to start all the way back at the Bronze Age. If I'm remembering my Blessed Isle sourcebook right, mortal citizens living in a city of the Realm enjoy well maintained streets, buildings up to code, reliable and government funded healthcare, and basically all the amenities of a First World 1930's-1950's country, barring transportation options and non-print mass media.
Nope. Plenty of Solars never became corrupt monsters even with the Curse.
- Location
- Singapore
It makes Solars more than they are, and pushes them to the very pinnacle of their Virtue.
Sometimes, for the nice Solars, this only makes them nicer. Unlikely, but possible.