- Location
- Wörms, the half continent
Yes. I mean, it's obvious what to do.
Anyone read Dune?
*laughs*
Anyone read Dune?
*laughs*
You are Offered an Exaltation
- Thread starter Strunkriidiisk
- Start date
- What if?
-
- Tags
- exalted (white wolf)
So is the Great Curse traceable?
Like if I wrote in a journal everyday would I be able to notice when my morality begins rapidly deteriorating?
Or is there a perception filter on it preventing the Exalt from realizing that they are going insane?
I would probably take the Exaltation regardless.
If it turns out that I can't figure out some way to mitigate it I'll set a death date for myself.
Like if I wrote in a journal everyday would I be able to notice when my morality begins rapidly deteriorating?
Or is there a perception filter on it preventing the Exalt from realizing that they are going insane?
I would probably take the Exaltation regardless.
If it turns out that I can't figure out some way to mitigate it I'll set a death date for myself.
Sort of? Basically, if you're feeling really, really stressed-out, you're close to an outbreak of the Great Curse. Unfortunately, you're probably going to have a hard time telling outbreaks of the Great Curse from something natural because they're always exaggerations of existing behaviors in the Exalt.
Not that it really matters. The Great Curse is dangerous because of its long-term effects on the Solar's behavioral patterns, which are going to be a horrible mess anyways because of the Solar's ridiculous magic bullshit. It's the Ring of Gyges problem times a thousand.
Aaron Peori
Rest in Peace
The way the curse works is this:
You have a general commitment to a certain type of action (being a good person, accomplishing a goal, being true to yourself or being brave) and a more specific 'trigger' related to that (for instance if your general perception of yourself is "I am a nice person" you might trigger when you see people, say, abusing children). Whenever you are forced to go against your broad self image or your specific trigger you build up invisible stress. The trigger builds up more than going against your general self perception but both work (you also build up if you resist mind control... but not an issue here unless you try to mind whammy yourself).
At a certain point which you can't predict if you build up enough stress you will snap, either going insanely into your perceived self image or abandoning it entirely. The effects can be brief or long (days long). The effect, by the way, feels wonderful. Like, the best experience you've ever felt wonderful. It also makes you stronger and more able to use your magic.
The trick is that the more responsibility you have the easier it is for you to trigger. Imagine if your trigger condition was "Whenever I am unable to prevent a child from dying due to neglect or abuse." Now...
Go type "Child neglect" into google. (Do not do this, you will be sad.)
Understand that, if you don't do something about every single hit that comes up you will trigger. Again and again. You will be forced to act, to do something because if you try to ignore it you will constantly trigger and build up stress and snap and cycle over and over and over again.
In the modern world, resisting Limit Break will be next to impossible. You will either constantly be working to prevent your trigger condition from occurring, or constantly ignoring it, or constantly triggering. From the outside, you will appear as either obsessed or ruthless or just plane insane.
And then add in the fact that you are immortal, and this will be happening constantly. Forever. With no respite.
If you take this deal you won't go mad. You already are mad. Your choice is whether to embrace it or fight it.
Righto. This is sounding worse and worse all the time.
Amorous Intent
Love the future
- Location
- Octavia, Venus
- Pronouns
- She/her
I'm naturally high compassion, low temperance and valor, and my particular ways of coping with stress and what happens when I have too much stress are already well documented. That is, I ignore my problems until I can't anymore, in which case I proceed to have a breakdown and cry. Crying breakdowns are already a type of canon Compassion limit break (IIRC), so it's a good bet that the Exaltation will just make me a useless moeblob instead of some awful tyrant.
So yeah, I'll take it.
And when I am functional, I'll be going for maximum Twilight caste, advancing technology for the benefit of all mankind, with only initial effort spent on ensuring I have a proper paranoia combo to escape any dangerous situations I might wind up in. Medicine, Craft (Water), and Craft (Genesis) are a transhumanist's best friends.
So yeah, I'll take it.
And when I am functional, I'll be going for maximum Twilight caste, advancing technology for the benefit of all mankind, with only initial effort spent on ensuring I have a proper paranoia combo to escape any dangerous situations I might wind up in. Medicine, Craft (Water), and Craft (Genesis) are a transhumanist's best friends.
I'll point out that its not realy as bad as Aaron Peori describes: You wont aquire Limit just from knowing about Child Neglect in some other place in the world, it would happen more if you witnessed it for yourself in some form.
A Solar with the trigger of "Witnessing innocents suffer" does'nt get limit merely from knowing about slavery in the Realm, for instance, but he would get limit from seeing an overseer beating a slave with his own eyes.
The main problem is that the trigger is linked to your dominant virtue, based on the four Virtues of Exalted: Compassion, Conviction, Temperance and Valor. While the trigger will rely on a context based on one of these, in theory any situation where you go against your main Virtue could also lead to getting limit. For example, if your dominant Virtue is Compassion, and you see a situation where your Compassion compels you to act but you choose not to (lets say, you see a hobo gets beaten by hooligans but choose to walk away), you would also gain limit.
Basicaly, the Great Curse makes you be driven more by your emotions, and your own notions of right and wrong. You wont literaly be forced to try and help every case of Child Neglect, if we continue with Aaron's example, but you will feel the urge to help every case you personaly come across, and gain Limit from not following up on it.
The important thing to note here, however, is that as a Solar Exalted? You have the power to follow up on these things. Unless your trigger is something very specific and esoteric, you have the power to make it right. Being the only supernatural being on the planet, there is very little that can stop you (or make it too inconvenient for you) to follow up on whatever it is your trigger is. You want to eradicate child neglect? Use your Social and Bureaucracy Charms to fix the system, doing more good than a million social workers could do in a lifetime in a year. You want to end the civil war in Syria that is causing so many refugees to flee to Europe? Go to Syria, social-fu the various factions into compliance, and turn the country into a paradise. Shit, get some Solar Circle Sorcery and make it into a literal paradise. The power is yours.
Yes, I realise I sound like the devil trying to tempt a foolish mortal into a bargain, but Solar Exaltation is just that damn good at solving problems. The chance you'll become mad with power? Who cares? Any evil you might do centuries or millenia from now would be dwarfed by the sheer benefit you can give the human race, with the very real potential to avoid said evil in the first place if you build enough safeguards or outright solve the problem.
At least you're not given a Sidereal Exaltation and forced to work with other Sidereals. Those are the Exaltations who's Great Curse is to fail in their plans :lol
Great Curse as written in 2E sucked. I particularly despise the 'you are autodoomed to become Super Hitler in some way' thing. It's supposed to be the great personal flaws of ancient heroes, not 'lolfucked if you live long enough'. Exalted is about being an epic figure of legend, not playing hero until whoops bad guy.
Anon̦̦
[Verified Girl]
- Location
- '̸̛͘͢;̶̧̕'̴̨͝͠;̢͡-̶͘-̴̀͟͟'́͘͟͟͜;̨̀/̷̧͏̴̢'̴̢̕;̸̛͟͢
Fuck yeah. I want to become immortal.
And no competition? I would not even doubt it.
And you can bet that, while it would take some time, I would become a megalomaniac God-Emperor of Mankind anyway. I have no doubt it would happen once I have a few centuries, all my perfect-defences up and some basic Social and Bureoucratic Charms. I would blitz for Taboo Inflicting Diabrete tough, Space Age ahoy!
Let's start a Utopia for Men, it will be doubleplus good.
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Borrow an idea from Frederik Pohl. Use gravitational time dilation as a trap for an Exalted. If time's passage around the Exalted can be slowed down sufficiently, then they can't decide to escape yet (IE, ever from an outside perspective) and they technically haven't died, so their Shard won't leave and find someone else's soul to attach itself to. As an advantage, this is another motive to have a decent space program before you go insane, seeing as we're fortunately lacking in nearby black holes.
Aaron Peori
Rest in Peace
Integrity Protecting Prana says "Good idea. Won't work, but good idea."
Anon̦̦
[Verified Girl]
- Location
- '̸̛͘͢;̶̧̕'̴̨͝͠;̢͡-̶͘-̴̀͟͟'́͘͟͟͜;̨̀/̷̧͏̴̢'̴̢̕;̸̛͟͢
Besides the fact that it wouldn't work, who the hell would do it when the Exalted goes mad?
Give it a few months and 'just' Taboo Inflicting Diatribe or Wise-Eyed Courtier Method, and you can pretty much make it impossible for anyone to think of ways to harm you around the world. Then add Mastery of Society Technique and it's literally impossible to be surprised/not know a plot against you.
You better not crimethink, that's plus ungood.
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Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
The Curse CAN be cured, you know. Here's a step-by-step:
**Alternatively, find a way into Yu-Shan, and persuade Lytek to let you use the Divine Apparatae of Periapt Surgery to attempt to remove the Curse yourself. Lytek himself can't, but doing things that gods are incapable of is why the Exalted exist in the first place.
- Get lost in a place of desolation, thereby allowing access to Cecelyne via sympathetic resonance.
- Hike the 5 day trip to Malfeas, then 5 more days to reach Creation.*
- Find the nearest shadowland, use to enter Underworld.**
- Find a Deathlord, get put in a Monstrance of Celestial Portion.
- Accept conversion into an Abyssal Exalted. This act strips the Great Curse from your Exaltation, and it may not be re-applied by any means at any time.
- Redeem into a Solar again, either the hard way or by reverse-engineering a Monstrance.
- Go back to Malfeas, use Cecelyne to return home.
**Alternatively, find a way into Yu-Shan, and persuade Lytek to let you use the Divine Apparatae of Periapt Surgery to attempt to remove the Curse yourself. Lytek himself can't, but doing things that gods are incapable of is why the Exalted exist in the first place.
Anon̦̦
[Verified Girl]
- Location
- '̸̛͘͢;̶̧̕'̴̨͝͠;̢͡-̶͘-̴̀͟͟'́͘͟͟͜;̨̀/̷̧͏̴̢'̴̢̕;̸̛͟͢
I shamefully agree that if I acquire an Exaltation in the modern world, I would have only one goal in mind; becoming the God-Emperor of Mankind with all my GLORIOUS SOLAR BULLSHIT. To both, unite and help humanity flourish, and just become the damned God-Emperor of Mankind.
Let's be honest, the simple fact that the whole world bureaucracy would run spotlessly, at the maximum possible efficiency, and with corruption being literally impossible, while people do follow the laws, would save countless lives and make the world a completely different place. That's just the beginning, and wouldn't even need my attention.
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And your plan fails there.
Because Earth is separated from Creation by the Well of Udr, which is a whole 'nother can of worms.
Finagle007
[Verified Great Old One]
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Separated from Creation, yes. Separated from Cecelyne, no.
Aaron Peori
Rest in Peace
Even given that its possible to get to Creation (not established by the OP) this is still the most ludicrous plan ever.
Yes, let's convince an immortal Incarna/Third Circle tier death monster to turn us into his death slave. This is a plan that is certainly not going to result in killing 90% of all humanity as you unleash the Great Contagion on unprotected Earth.
Or, for that matter, unleash Adrojan on it. Because hey, Adorjan is sealed away from Creation. Once she has access to a path to Earth, nothing stop her scouring the planet to the bedrock while you're off murdering millions to convince a death-monster-ghost that you'd like to be better at killing people.
Technically her restriction is that she cannot pass through Cecelyne.
magic9mushroom
BEST END.
Yes, it would make the world a completely different place.
This place.
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Anon̦̦
[Verified Girl]
- Location
- '̸̛͘͢;̶̧̕'̴̨͝͠;̢͡-̶͘-̴̀͟͟'́͘͟͟͜;̨̀/̷̧͏̴̢'̴̢̕;̸̛͟͢
Duburu
Simurgh Survivor
Can i be a first age exalted with no memory but only mine?
Why? So it not ganna be that awkward moment when you realize you have 9000 concubine
Speckled Burd
Moon Gazer
- Location
- Kansas
>Allow yourself to be converted into a being whose entire purpose is to destroy all of reality and which causes entire areas to be scoured lifeless/into shadowlands simply by existing to prevent yourself from turning into a monster that will rule the world with an iron fist.
Now you're thinking like a First Age Solar!
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