GM for Sidereal-focused Exalted game

[Angie]

Ah, I like the story but there's a couple issues I'm afraid. One's super minor; May Blossom is actually the name of the signature chosen of secrets so that was sort of confusing.

The bigger issue is that our characters exalted 30-50 years ago, as per the house rules document. There weren't Abyssals around until five years before the standard start date, when the Jade Prison was opened and the Neverborn/Deathlords got their clammy ghost hands on a bunch of shards. You might be able to make the stuff with her father work with a dragon-blooded necromancer or a mortal death cult, and have her deathknight stabbing spree later be due to a lingering grudge against death-aligned beings?

Why is Lookshy's city god being female odd?

You know, I knew there was someone called May Blossom, but I didn't think it significant. I'll figure something else out, like Purple Rose or something.

Also, whoops. I think I got this game mixed up with the other game I might have been joining and dropped out of (I disliked how high powered it was being). I think I'll have to go with Dragon Blooded in order for said necromancer to have a chance against Purple Rose. It would also make more sense for a newbie Sidereal to be able to beat down a Dragon-Blooded. Dragon Bloods are still in the Loom.

I guess the God of Lookshy being female and called a "God" was just odd to me. I don't mind, just been a while ever since I ran across a situation like that and it struck me as odd.

Thank you for the editing help! I'll get to it.

EDIT: Editing done. Her Intimacy against the undead is still hard coded in. I may have her third intimacy be "She still feels she owes Tuan Yi for her help, and her gifts". All of these Intimacies should be easy adventure hooks!

[Meliai]

Ah! Yeah 'God' tends to be used as gender neutral in exalted, though you do get 'Goddess' sometimes (though not always) when referring to specific divine ladies.

Good luck with your revisions! I...still have basically all my writing to do :'D

[Angie]

Ah! Yeah 'God' tends to be used as gender neutral in exalted, though you do get 'Goddess' sometimes (though not always) when referring to specific divine ladies.

Good luck with your revisions! I...still have basically all my writing to do :'D

Oh the revisions are done. It's mostly the same thing, I kinda just find-replaced all.

[Muse]

  So, the PCs are mostly gals? 

[Angie]

It seems to be turning out that way. I guess something about Exalted lends itself to ass-whoopin' ladies

[Rook Seidhr]

EDIT: Since we're talking house rules, I would like to submit a request: When calculating Parry DV, I tend to throw in Essence into the calculation (so it becomes [Dex+Weapon Skill+Weapon Defense+Essence]divided by 2). It helps to make the heavily armored guys a bit more defensible, and helps other characters have Parry DVs that don't suck!

Sorry, no. Essence is instead of Weapon Defense. If you want a high PDV, get a weapon with a high Defense.

[Angie]

Sorry, no. Essence is instead of Weapon Defense. If you want a high PDV, get a weapon with a high Defense.

Was only a suggestion, just something I do in my own games. I figured I'd toss the idea in, see what happens.

[Meliai]

Meliai activates Unassailable Expisitionary Barrier!

Translation: sorry for the wall of text. I get a bit carried away with backgrounds...

Swift White Hare Chosen of Secrets

((Born 12 Ascending Water 720, Exalted 26 Resplendent Water 736))

Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide

When Radiant Xuan, a die-hard bronze faction oracle, was unexpectedly cut down in the field his colleagues quickly got to work divining the identity of the infant his shard had chosen. They were elated to find that the child would be born on the Blessed Isle but the mood soured quickly when they realized the new Sidereal wouldn’t be the vaunted progeny of a Great House, raised among the wealth and splendor of the Imperial City and the glories of the bronze faction’s vision, but the bastard offspring of a slave girl and an un-exalted lout with poor self control. Such things are easily mended, though! They would just have to be spirited away to Yu-Shan shortly after birth, or at least to some threshold village where they could be raised without shackles around their wrists, it was just a matter of determining what the most auspicious place for them would be.

Fate, unfortunately, had other plans. The charts were checked again and again, but each time the said the same thing; the child was to stay right where they were. A few minor strings were pulled and the expecting mother was transferred to a safer position among the household servants, and on the twelfth day of Ascending water, realm year 720, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. A recurring dream of a large white rabbit running between the shelves of an endless, dusty library had been haunting the new mother for months, and when her daughter was born with a shock of snow-white hair upon her head she decided it must have been an omen. The girl was named Swift White Hare, a slight she assumes was unintentional as the pun probably does not translate to her mother’s native skytongue.

When she was old enough to be put to work her Sidereal minders arranged for Swift (as she prefers to be called) to be given to a young Dragon-Blooded sorceress named Mnemon Kanya, to act as her personal handmaiden. Kanya herself had a notable enough Destiny to merit the seers keeping an eye on her, and having the two of them in one place simplified their work a bit.

Kanya was lonely and Swift was a quiet girl, obedient and demure. Swift was safe. So, after little more than a few months, the young Dynast was unloading all her burdens on her slave her friend nightly. Swift listened obligingly for years. To idle gossip, to complaints about teachers, to ‘no it’s definitely true love this time, I’m sure!’, to complaints that threw into sharp relief the fact that Swift herself was property and Kanya was a pampered princess. Still, Swift grew fond of her mistress in an odd sort of way. There was an innocence about her than Swift herself had never been privileged enough to possess, and it made her feel strangely protective.

So naturally, when a sudden flash of insight brought to Swift the realization that there was a conspiracy afoot, she took it upon herself to ferret out the truth. It never would have occurred to someone with less attentive ears than Swift, but she eventually heard nearly everything that was spoken of within the compound where she served, either personally or from her fellow servants. A few comments on odd encounters Kanya had experienced at the Heptagram, strange late-night meetings between her parents and other members of the House, and no small amount of snooping on Swift’s part gradually built up a web of occult strangeness around her mistress, some horrible spider waiting for the right moment to devour her. Swift knew little about sorcery at the time; the purpose of the rites and rituals were lost on her, but she know the conspirators meant Kanya harm and that was enough for her. Much to Swfit’s frustration, she only managed to poison one member of the cabal before the Sidereal who was supposed to be watching over her realized she’d taken her Second Breath and swept her off to Yu-Shan.

 

Once among the five-score fellowship and informed of what she really was, the gold faction roped Swift in fast and thoroughly. Though her heavenly minders had tried to keep her sheltered from the darker facets of Blessed Isle society, what terrible things she was personally shielded from she learned of from other servants. Swift wasn’t exactly sure the Solars would have made things as great as the gold faction seemed convinced they could have, but they couldn’t have been worse than the Realm, right?

The elder Sidereals in the Forbidding Manse of Ivy didn’t take Swift’s vocal support of Ayesha Ura and her circle well, but the condescending manner in which many of them attempted to explain to Swift how foolish she was being only strengthened her position. Eventually they washed their hands of her, shoving much of the most tedious work in the Manse onto her. That she could have dealt with, but what finally galvanized the animosity she still harbors for the bronze faction was when she found all records on Mnemon Kanya and the members of the conspiracy Swift had uncovered sealed, and every attempt she made to find out what had come of the situation blocked by more bureaucratic red tape that a Seer of her age and limited experience could hope to overcome.

Once her initial training was completed Swift was assigned to the Convention of Wood and the Convention on Essence Wielders. She was a diligent and dependable asset for the Convention of Wood, but most of her work there was pretty standard fare. For the Convention on Essence Wielders she showed a knack early on for infiltration and built up an impressive track record (for someone her age) recovering spellbooks and instructions for thaumaturgical rituals too dangerous to leave in the hands of mortals. More often than not, however, to truly sequester the knowledge within the books and scrolls a sorcerer or savant had to be eliminated as well, if they were judged to be a danger to Creation. As such, Swift was assigned a partner, a Chosen of Endings named Sen Vosaian. The collaboration proved to be highly effective in the field, but Sen was a member of the bronze faction and the pair spent the vast majority of their time together in Yu-Shan in one seemingly endless spat. Twenty-some odd years of spent working in close quarters and trusting one another with their lives has forged something neither will admit is friendship between them, their fights now more closely resembling the bickering of an old married couple.

Swift was quite confident and happy with her place in the fellowship, right up until the Solars actually returned. The speed with which plans that could reshape the face of Creation were being put into practice worried her. She tried to discuss the matter with several young gold faction friends, only to find herself playing Yozi’s advocate to numerous ways the Cult of the Illuminated could backfire. As one particular friend, an idealistic joybringer, loyally spouted the party line no matter what argument Swift raised she eventually convinced herself to wash her hands of the whole affair and joined the ranks of the independants just as the gold faction was receiving its greatest boon in centuries.

In the wake of her political shift Swift was transferred the the Convention of Fire; she still retains ties to old friends, but things are strained and talking politics with her inevitably leads to arguments. She has found Nazri’s complete lack of tolerance for factional shenanigans refreshing, though she’s fairly certain he, like many bronze stars and independants, is convinced her defection is part of some elaborate ruse. She’s done her best to be as unfailingly honest and forthright as she can for the past five years, but with the timescale Celestial Exalts operate on she’s accepted the bitter reality that it might be a very long time before she’s able to establish a reasonable level of trust with her fellow Seers, if it ever happens at all.

[Rook Seidhr]

Swift approved except for the first sentence, which I am still pondering. I should note that putting it behind Spoiler-Block Concealment Ruse would have been preferable…

[Angie]

*Angie uses Most Glorious Meditative Trance Technique while she waits!*

[eternaldarkness]

Away from my books, but I should get Crimson done by Monday.

[Meliai]

Okay, edit made and spoiler engaged! Back to work on the crunchy bits. Sooooo much errata, sooooooooooo much cross-referencing...

[Muse]

Aron Klail: Chosen of Journeys

   A renowned clockmaker and architect living outside of Nexus, Ronan Klail retired to the countryside with two young and beautiful concubines—White Hart and Winter Moon—to study, design, and perhaps raise a child or three. 

   Winter Moon had been rendered sterile by an accidental overdose of maiden tea, but White Hart bore him a son—Aaron—and three years later a daughter, Rebecca. 

   Intelligent, hard working, and studious, Aaron was in many ways his father's son., but there was one very distinctive difference between the two.  While Ronan was happier—at least in his older years—traveling to distant lands in books and through letters to his colleagues—ever history book, travel journal, and scientific treatise sparked in young Aaron a yearning to race away on horseback and witness these magnificent places and things for himself.   

   Aaron was a dreamer in other ways too.  His father instructed his children in the martial arts for physical fitness and self defense.  Aaron wanted to use those skills, brilliantly and heroically.  Ronan was not satisfied to teach his knowledge as theoretical scholarship alone.  He made sure they knew the full scope of his trade, applied mathematics, architecture, clockwork.  Aaron learned these things hungrily, but wasn't satisfied with tried and true methods.  He wanted to create and innovate, build things no one had ever built before, not even in the first age.  He wanted to create something that would  make a diference, something that could change the world. 

   Between his 19th and his 21st year, motivated by his yearning to see distant places and also by the long distances he had to travel to tryst with various young women who caught his fancy, Aaron did just that.  Using wheels, springs, pedals, and gears, he designed and then built a machine that would allow a single person to travel for many hours at horseback speeds anywhere there was a decent road.  He called his machine a bicycle.  He showed it off to his poorer neighbors.  Every time he came up with a newer, better design, he gave his older working model too a neighbor too poor to afford a horse. 

   He originally approached a guildsman—a business partner of his father—about investing in the device for manufacture and sale. 

   The more he watched his friends and neighbors benefit from his invention the more Aaron began to rethink the idea of selling the design. This 'bicycle' he'd developed represented to him a freedom he wanted to make affordable and available to all—the same freedom to travel that a horse represented.  Travel to market, to a lover's home, to a distant land.  All the things people who could afford a horse could do, his machine could do for a fraction of the cost! 

   With this ideal buzzing in his mind and hammering in his heart, the young man informed the guildsman that he wanted assurances written into their contract that the technology would be distrusted to all social classes at a reasonable price and for a reasonable profit.  It was then that the guildsman began to hem and haw, holding back from the offer.  At first, Aaron was confused.  He reviewed his stipulations. They seemed to him so reasonable and intuitive that he wondered why he'd brought them up in the first place... 

   But... 

   The guildsman—Dominic Shin—owned horse ranches.  Thousands and thousand of acres of horse ranches.  Could he possibly intend to purchase the rights to Aaron's machine and then refuse to produce it? 
   Perhaps he did.  Aaron left the negotiating table that night without an agreement and with strong implications that if Dominic would not distribute bicycles in the way Aaron suggested, who knew many who would. 

   Three days later, bandits descended upon Aron’s home.  They killed several men and dragged away a good many young women, including his sister and his mothers.  They took careful care to smash and burn every bicycle they could find, and they burned Aron’s workshop to ash. 

   Aaron took a blow to the head early in the fight.  He recovered a few hours later under the ministrations of a stranger.  Borrowing a horse from the stranger, he road after the bandits and found them selling the stolen girls to representatives of Dominic Shin.
   
   Aaron can no longer entirely remember the following hours, but a brilliant yellow light lit the night, and when it was done Dominic Shin lay dead at his feet.

   The stranger was there then, splattered with the blood of more than a few of the bandits and Dominick’s house mercenaries.   Not as much as Aaron. 

   “Tell me something, my young friend.  Where is the yellow light coming from?” 

   “Come with me.  I have much to teach you.” 


Artifacts: 
   Though Aaron has crafted a bicycle of Ambrosia, he prefers these days to pilot a Swift Runner. 
   He wears silken armor and an infinite resplendence amulet crafted of starmetal and moonsilver. 
   He wears a pair of Hearthstone Bracers in which is set the hearsthstone from his celestial manse. 

Combat Style: 
   Aaron has learned Air Dragon Style and sidereal throwing charms.  He aspires to master Prismatic Arrangement of Creation style. 

[Rook Seidhr]

Some issues with Aron Klail, will discuss over IM.

[Rook Seidhr]

Also some issues with Estela, will discuss over PM.

[Rook Seidhr]

A thing that came up in private discussion:

Your Backgrounds are yours. If one of them is going to be a plot focus, I'll discuss it with you; but you're not paying to suck. I hate pay-to-suck. So I rarely deploy ninja interior decorators against PC manses, send thieves to steal daiklaves, etc., unless you're hanging onto something without paying XP for it.

[AndyZ]

Which castes do you have so far?

[Rook Seidhr]

Angiejuusan is writing a second draft of her Chosen of Serenity's background, and has a sheet which I haven't looked at yet.
eternaldarkness is working on a Chosen of Battles but hasn't submitted anything yet.
Meliai has a solid background for her Chosen of Secrets, but no sheet yet.
Muse wrote up a background for a Chosen of Journeys but we need to discuss it.

So the currently-open slot is Endings—but Meliai has a strong concept for a Chosen of Endings Ally.

However, I am not wedded to a perfect Circle for this game, since it will be as much in Yu-Shan as in Creation. Pitch what you want to pitch.

[Angie]

You should look at it. I put a lot of work into that thing. *Huffs*

[AndyZ]

I will ponder an Endings ^_^

[eternaldarkness]

I'm close to done with both the stats and a background for my Battles. It's been a difficult labor of love :D

[Muse]

*Chuckles*  Deputy GM on his way to your sheet now, Angie-chan.  :) 

[Angie]

*Chuckles*  Deputy GM on his way to your sheet now, Angie-chan.  :)

Just Angie is fine.

[Muse]

Angie, I checked your character.  The math looks good.  Here's what I found: 

Atributes:   Base Spent/0 Bonus Points
Abilities:   Base Spent/11 Bonus Points
Backgroudns:   Base Spent/4 Bonus Points
Charms:      Base Spent/5 Bonus Points 
Collegens:   Base Spent/0 Bonus Points
Specialties:   Base Spent/0 Bonus
Virtues:   Base Spent/1 Bonus
Willpower   Base Spent/4 Bonus


Notes:   
   Artifact attunement from peripheral essence does not provoke an anima display.  As such most people prefer to attune from peripheral essence rather than personal. 
   Does not speak Flame Tongue. 

[Angie]

Angie, I checked your character.  The math looks good.  Here's what I found: 

Atributes:   Base Spent/0 Bonus Points
Abilities:   Base Spent/11 Bonus Points
Backgroudns:   Base Spent/4 Bonus Points
Charms:      Base Spent/5 Bonus Points 
Collegens:   Base Spent/0 Bonus Points
Specialties:   Base Spent/0 Bonus
Virtues:   Base Spent/1 Bonus
Willpower   Base Spent/4 Bonus


Notes:   
   Artifact attunement from peripheral essence does not provoke an anima display.  As such most people prefer to attune from peripheral essence rather than personal. 
   Does not speak Flame Tongue.

Would you believe me if I told you I've never, ever, EVER, seen that rule?