Tieflings, Daiklaves, Khaine, and Vampires: Let's Read Dungeons the Dragoning 40k 7th Edition

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After the Guts Exaltations, come the Million Dollar Man Exaltation.

I am not kidding.

Say hello to the Promethean:




Unlike the other Exalts, Prometheans are not born. They are made. An entire civilization pools all of its resources together to form the ultimate fighting machine. The process is so expensive, experimental, and impossible that once finished no one can replicate it. All who have tried to replicate the first Promethean they have made have failed. However, they normally only need one. For a Promethean is more than just a machine. It is a member of the race that created it and volunteered to sacrifice their flesh so that it can be made machine.

Through the combination of magic and technology, they are able to turn an organic into the best magitech machine ever created. The only part of the organic left after the process is the heart, the Promethean Core. This Core acts as their power sources, and a constant generator of Pyros, their "life-blood" if you will.




A Promethean's powers are more technical than other Exalts. The only magical thing about them is the Pyros flowing through their veins. However, this is enough to make them a match for just about any other Exalt in the Great Wheel. Their metallic bodies are extremely tough, able to take damage that would make any normal person fall over and die. Not just that, but they can't truly be killed by conventional means. Take out their head? They become blind but can still fight. Take out an arm? They can still use their other appendages. Add in the fact that most of their body parts can be fixed or replaced, and they are almost unkillable.

The only way to truly keep them down is to destroy their Core. Without their heart a Promethean will die. However, that is easier said than done. Most Prometheans have weapons built right into their bodies, and the strongest of them can transform into a massive mecha form of destruction.




Prometheans stand out from the rest of their race. Being made of metal has caused them to become detached from the things that organics tend to worry about. Their behavior can sometimes appear cold or sociopathic to the rest of their people. This has caused many to see them as only weapons to be pointed at their foes, which has led to many Prometheans being hunted down when it is discovered they have sentience. Even so, Prometheans tend to fall into a helper role in just about any community they join. It is in their nature to want to help others, even when they are in positions of authority. Whether this is apart of their programming or otherwise, who can say?

Power Stat: Generation. As a Promethean grows in power, they swap out their old parts for new ones. Normally this involves a trip to a place where they can have new parts installed. This allows them to swap out equipment for betters ones when needed.

Resource Stat: Pyros.

Tells: As a Promethean uses more Pyros, their systems and inner workings begin to appear more and more. They might start letting out steam, leaking coolant, or having satellites pop up on their bodies.

 

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Ok. so remember when I said the Vampires have a connection with Khaine?

Yeah, that's because, the original Vampires were made when they drank Khaine's blood.

Yep. Drinking the blood of the Eldarin God of Blood and War creates beings focused on Blood and Death. Go figure.

So anyway, the Vampires!





As said above, Vampires were created when a bunch of people decided to drink the blood of the dying Eldarin God of War, Khaine. Those who did, became the powerful, nigh immortal undead that wander the Great Wheel today. Generally, they are considered the weakest of the Exalt. However, anyone can become a vampire—you have to be born a Paragon, get a Daemon to replace your Soul to become a Daemonhost, or have your organs and otherwise replaced with machine parts to become a Promethean. Vampires? Just make yourself useful to a vampire until they are willing to turn you. You'll probably be paying off a Blood Debt for the majority of your life, but hey your nigh immortal now!





Vampires characteristics are pretty simple. The most prominent though are their immortality and reliance on blood. Being undead, vampires can't be killed through conventional means. Only a stake through the heart, direct sunlight, or magical attacks can truly end them. Outside of that, not much can really hope to seriously harm a vampire. Of course, this immortality comes at a price; blood. Vampires need blood. They can't survive without it, and often this is what drives them to do the thing they do. If they are deprived of it for too long, they will wither and die.




Most denizens of the Wheel see Vampire as parasites. As such, most of these Exalts make their homes in the Astral Sea. Without the need to breathe, the empty void of Space acts as the perfect living area for the Vampires. They have their own cities, all under their law, with humans that pay for their goods in blood, only to have it funneled to their vampiric masters.

Basically, think Vampire: The Masquerade.

While it is easy to become a vampire, it is not something easily given. The person must have the trust of their Master before they are even considered to become a Sire. Even then, they are under constant supervision of their Master. If they step out of line, don't be surprised if they end up chained up while the sun rises in the morning.

Power Stat: Blood Potency. A vampire's power is based on how well the Blood of Khaine resonates inside of them. This is what gives vampires their iconic powers. From seeing in the dark, superhuman speed, to mind control. The more a vampire's blood resonates, however, the less human they will seem. A vampire with low Blood Potency can easily pass for a human (albeit a pale one), but one with high Blood Potency can seem almost corpse like, though there are exceptions. For every shriveled corpse, there is a handsome vampire out there some where.

Resource Stat: Vitae

Tells: The more Vitae a vampire spends, the more their true nature comes out. Fangs lengthening, wings unfurling, and emitting a psychic aura that just screams predator are just some of the examples.

Interestingly enough, the game does allow you to Sire your own vampire. But there are constraints to it:

 

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Now, we come to the final Exaltation in the CRB.

Here we have the Werewolves!



Werewolves are those blessed (or cursed depending on who you ask) by one of the goddesses of the Blessed Pantheon, Luna, to change shape. Anyone can become a werewolf in one of two ways. One is to be born into it. When a mortal and a werewolf mate, there is about a one in four chance that the child will be a shape changer. Two werewolves mating will work as well, however the children always seem to turn out psychotic. They keep spiralling down into the pits of insanity, until their parents are often forced to put them down. The other way is to be blessed by Luna. In certain moments, Luna may look upon mortals who have survived a particularly traumatizing event, and bestow this power unto them.

Though they are called "werewolves" this title isn't exactly accurate. "Shape Changers" is more fitting, as different races have been known to take on different forms. Elves have been known to become big cats, while Dragonborn have become alligators or raptors.



Most werewolves draw their power from their blessings. Their shape changing gives them three forms that they can choose from. Their Animal Form, which is the standard four legged wolf form. While they lose the abilities of most bipeds with opposable thumbs, they gain enhanced senses and fierce claws. Then there is their based Human form. Not much to say about this, except that it lets them easily pass for a normal member of any race. Finally, they have their Warform. This form is made only for one thing and one thing only; killing. The Exalt will fly into a rage when entering this form, killing any friend or foe that happens to be nearby. They become nigh unstoppable, though they also lose the ability to think on higher planes outside of fighting.

They also have the ability to move from the Materium to the Warp at will, though this brings its own problems.



A people's view on werewolves depends on the society. Traditional, monolithic societies would probably see them as a menace to be dealt with. This is because, werewolves highly value individual freedom. They are normally very flighty, moving from one interest to another. They believe that you can't focus on one thing and be good at it. You need to have everything in harmony. From physical pursuits, to magical ones, to more technical ones.

Because of this, werewolves are always on the cutting edge of all trends. Whenever a new trend starts, they immediately jump on it and try to make it better. If that fails, then they try something else. They never only have one plan and never just stick with one path (even if it is a very sensible one, like overwhelming firepower).

They tend to live in tribes on the outskirts of societies, constantly trying to bring down organizations they deem to be wrong. They identify themselves using silver tattoos as those are the only things that will leave permanent marks on their skin.

Power Stat: Feral Heart. A Feral Heart is the connection a werewolf has with his wild half. The higher the Feral Heart stat, the more beast like the Hero becomes. They also gain a higher connection to the Warp, allowing them to enter it at will.

Resource Stat: Rage.

Tells: As a werewolf spends rage, he starts to show more and more of his animal half. He might start growing fur, his claws might elongate, or he may start walking on all fours. Not just that, but their tattoos start to glow brighter and brighter on their bodies.


And that's the end of the CRB's Exaltations! I do plan to go over the rest, but there is something else I want to talk about first.

Namely, the Sword/Gun Kata/Magic Schools and the ability to make Sword and Magic Combos.

Basically, if you ever wanted to take a Maximized Fireball Spell and fuse it with an Invisibility Spell so that when you cast it, you turn invisible and kill whatever the fuck happened to dare to stand in your way today? You can do that.

Join me next time as I go over: Swords, Magic, and Gun Kata!

Edit: Oh, one last thing. Not a single one of these Exaltations is race locked.

You can be any Exaltation for any race no matter what.