[E X A L T E D] Pseudo-Modern Action Fantasy; Recruiting a Full New Team!

[Aethyrium]

Welcome to the wild, no heroes and villains
Welcome to the war, we've only begun, so
Pick up your weapon and face it
There's blood on the crown, go and take it
You get one shot to make it out alive, so

Higher and higher you chase it
It's deep in your bones, go and take it
This is your moment, now is your time, so

Prove yourself and...

RISE, RISE

Welcome friends!

This is E X A L T E D! A pseudo-modern fantasy story in the Light category; The content of this game can be violent and graphic, but does not veer into sexual extremes.

E X A L T E D is a game set in the fictional world of Toil, and focuses on the adventures of teams enrolled in the world's Battle Academies on their road to becoming the next generation of Champions. The characters are students who have overcome the odds, and for their own reasons, made the choice that they will be the line of defense against the Hollow. They will be the protectors of those who cannot protect themselves, and the defenders of life as it is known. And along the way to this admirable end, they will come to know the larger world, and become embroiled in vast and ancient secrets that have been playing out for millennia. They will have no choice but to get stronger, rely on one another, forge alliances, and make decisions with far reaching impact... Whether they're ready to or not.

World Map

Full Scale Version

Why yes, Toil does use cliche naming conventions and borrow 'sets' of things from other stuff.

Savage Academy	Hammer Academy	Instinct Academy	Equinox Academy	Light Academy	Dragon Academy

Take 1 free dot of Soul

Want more about Humans? Read here!

Take 1 free dot of Shimmer

Want more about Elves? Read here!

Design a unique advantage

Want more about Silenus? Read here!

So. You want to be a Champion, huh? You’re going to stand up and be the thin line that separates humanity from the clutches of the Hollow? Well then, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to Hammer, squire. What, you have questions? You’re in luck, I have answers.

What is a Champion? Now that’s a loaded question, but to be brief, they’re elite warriors who train and graduate from one of Toil’s famous Battle Academies. That should naturally answer your next question, Hammer is one of those great institutions, located in Onyx. It has four siblings - cousins, might actually be a better term - named: Savage, Instinct, Equinox, and Light. That word I used to describe you, squire, that’s what we call new Champion’s to be. If you survive, over the next four years you’ll become an adept, a knight, a master, before graduating and entering the ranks of Champion. That’s when you’ll get registered into The Index, and that’s when it gets good. See, that certification puts you above most laws, defense forces, militaries, and lets you traverse the borders of Toil’s kingdoms autonomously.

Why would anyone let you do that? Well because you’ll be a defender of the world. And what are you defending it from? Whatever it needs defending from. Sometimes that’s people, but most commonly it’s the Hollow, the greatest threat to life that has ever existed. What are the Hollow? Well, you’ll take a whole class on that, but to summarize they are creature’s from the Infinite Black, the twisted, malicious children of the Dark God.

Want to know more about the Hollow? Read here!

You want to know about the world? Eager. I like that. Okay, well, five kingdoms exist across Toil, you are, obviously, in Onyx, capital of Johtan and home of Hammer. We’re a proud people, with the greatest military in all of Toil. No other kingdom compares to our might. Our lands are rich with ore, and we do not lack for local mines of Arcanite.

Want to know more about Onyx? Read here!

Kantos is to the east of us, and is ruled from Emerald, and that’s where you’ll find Savage. The people of Kantos are known for their resilience. Not surprising since the Dark God’s realm existed there, and the whole region is filled with some of the oldest and most powerful Hollow. They’d tell you that’s why Savage produces the best Champions. Ha! Then there’s Unovia and Pearl to the south. Bunch of rich pricks if you ask me. Unovia is richer in Arcanite than we are in ore, and supplement basically every kingdom at this point. That’s where you’ll find Light. Go further east from Kantos and you’ll run into Hoenan, Ruby, and Instinct. People call them enlightened. Lawless is more like it, they’re a bunch of mercenaries and lowlifes. Suppose that’s why they’ve got such good relations with the Silenus though. Finally if you look north, you’ll run into Sinnat, and find your way to Sapphire which is where Equinox is located. We may have the greatest military, but they’re the tech. Most of what makes society what it is today comes from Sinnat.

Now, north of Johtan, there once was another kingdom. Kalanos, and it had a city we called Opal, and there was a sixth Battle Academy, Dragon. But about a hundred years ago, around the time of the Great War, it was lost. Now it’s… Well it’s out of the way and we don’t go there.

Want to know more about the Great War? Read here!

What about the elves and the silenus? Well, there’s not much to tell. Toil isn’t ours alone. If the Hollow are the twisted children of the Dark God, then the elves are the blessed children of the God of Light. But they’re a lot more like us than our cousins. They bleed, they sleep, they eat, you know, everything that the Hollow don’t. You could call them our older sibling. While humanity is known for having the strongest soul, the elves are in touch with magic more than we are; they’re more intune with their shimmers. No way to quantify that really, but that’s what they say. Silenus are… Well that’s a really long story and we don’t have enough time to get into it. Suffice to say that everyone’s got an opinion about them. Some people call them hybrids on account that all of the silenus have an animal trait, and they’re as varied as the wildlife they emulate. Cats, dogs, birds, fish, hell even scorpions. Some have ears, eyes, or tails, and others have wings and gills. You name it, there’s probably a silenus with it somewhere. If the elves are our older sibling, then the silenus are our younger. They haven’t been on Toil very long, comparatively, but they sure have been involved in a lot.

Want to know more about the Gods? Read here!

Arcanite? How do you not know about that? Jeez, alright, well, it’s all around you. All of our technology is powered by Arcanite. But it’s more than just a power source, it’s our tie to magic. Our legends tell us that in ancient times, before the Gods left Toil, we were able to perform magic on our own. But these days, you’ve got to tap into Arcanite for the power. It comes in a bunch of types, but there are six major ones: red for fire, blue for water, white for air, green for earth, black for lightning, and yellow for sonic.

Want to know more about Arcanite? Read here!

Now I mentioned it before, but everyone on Toil has a Shimmer, a power inside of them. You don’t need Arcanite for that, that’s an echo of whatever we used to be able to do. But if you want to use power outside whatever gift you were born with? You’re going to need yourself some Arcanite. You can use it in all sorts of ways. Champions use it to infuse their weapons all the time. We craft it into ammunition, and to inscribe, infuse, and power all sorts of things, from clothes to weapons, to elaborate matrices that generate powerful magical effects. Some people, would-be sorcerers, use Arcanite to perform so-called spells. Though that’s an old art.

Want to know more about Magic? Read here!

[Aethyrium]

E X A L T E D makes use of timespans to execute gameplay. Each timespan lasts 2-3 OOC months (or thereabouts), and typically covers 1-3 IC weeks. The range of the timespan is a series of dates prior to the current chapter, and we identify each timespan by the chapter it is attached to. Therefore the 1.01 timespan covered the IC dates of 9.27-10.6, with the actual chapter scene taking place on 10.6; the 1.02 timespan covered the IC dates of 10.7-10.18, with the actual chapter scene taking place on 10.18; etc etc. If this doesn’t make immediate sense, don’t worry, we keep a live, color coded, calendar that tracks each timespan and every scene that takes place in the game so you can easily reference what happened when!

With this in mind, we make use of 3 “thread types” to organize the game. They are as follows:

• [Chapter] threads are the games “main story” threads. They are guided by the storyteller to tell specific events that forward the plot. There is exactly one of these per timespan, and they always mark the end of a given timespan, to ensure that the potentially meaningful and impactful things that happen within them can be concluded before you’re expected to play past them. Chapter participation is mandatory, all characters/players are expected to take part in these (though the occasional missed round is no concern). These scenes move at a pace of about 1.5 posts/week or every 4 to 5 days; each storyteller post contains the date of the next post. Their start and end marks the beginning and end of any given timespan on an OOC level - rather than any fixed period of time. Thus far they have averaged about 80 posts per chapter, or around 11 rounds, or around 2 months - but they could be longer or shorter, depending on content.
• [Interlude] are like chapters in that they are mandatory participation, but they are intended to be shorter. These never take place at the same time as a chapter, and rather, are meant to highlight story significant moments that don’t necessarily need the level of detail / extensive exploration that a chapter provides. They take place during the course of timespan, and are not limited to one per timespan. They will be worked through in order of IC date, until eventually we arrive at the chapter. You could think of these as mini-chapters, content that's important to have on screen/interact with for some reason, but not nearly as significant as a chapter.
• [Sandbox]’s are where the bulk of gameplay happens outside of the chapters. These are open threads where you can write with the other characters and freely interact with the world. You’re welcome to call on Storyteller assistance to tell a story, or explore an aspect of the world you want to interface with, or associate with any of the myriad available storyteller characters. This is for your everyday social stuff, character’s individual growth and storytelling, and setting the stage or exploring the surroundings of the very much alive world that the characters are part of. How many side scenes you take on, and how quickly they move, is entirely up to you and those involved. We do not enforce that side scenes must be concluded as timespans progress - though we do encourage it, so you are always writing in the most current focus of time.
  • One sandbox thread we have is called Reflections. The intent of this thread is two fold - one, for you to write any scenes that happened prior to the games IC start date, in case the characters had interactions before that. Two, and more important, for you to engage in solo storytelling about your character’s past. We have had great success, and highly encourage players to write solo-scenes to explore their character and showcase them for the other characters. Let us see important backstory moments in action, or current moments stolen alone that detail a character's evolving thoughts! Likewise, storyteller cutscenes that showcase the living world go here.
  • Another special thread we use is called Snippets. This thread is for, typically, small interactions between characters that aren’t really full scene worthy, but are better actually played out than just handled OOC. Maybe character A asks character B an important question, and the answer is easy enough but what specifically the character says is important for some reason. Well, that makes a great snippet! Just a quick glimpse into a specific interaction.

If you’re looking to join the game, you may be wondering how you will be able to catch up on everything that has happened thus far. Well, the reality is that you don’t have to. E X A L T E D takes place at the Battle Academy, which is, in a sense, a college of sorts. And IC speaking, it’s only been a month. It’s beyond feasible that characters haven’t met or had a chance to interact with everyone yet, so there is no suspension of disbelief needed on that front. Likewise, the structure of the squire teams means that, mostly, you operate within your own little bubble. So you do not need to have read any of the posts that have happened in order to synchronize with the game.

But there are some things you should know, because the characters would! And some very light reading I encourage you to do surrounding those things. Plus we have some excellent tools to help you understand what’s been going on and relevant. First, as mentioned, we have a full timeline calendar that tracks every scene that has happened in the game and gives a brief description of what it was about - if you’re recruited, you’ll have access to this and you’ll be able to get an idea of everything that has happened in the game at a quick glance. There is also a timeline in this post that details the sort of major events that have happened since gameplay started, with links to the relevant posts.

To smooth onboarding though, allow me to summarize the most important bits (all dates are IC):

• On 10.6, gRAVIty (that is the current player character team), got caught up in an arcanite heist at a business called Dazzle & Dust. The shop was destroyed, one of their team members - Mila - was kidnapped, and subsequently their team leader - Namid - left the academy.
• On 10.12, two new students - Meena and Vesper - were admitted to Hammer and placed on gRAVIty. This was unusual, as after selection new students are rarely if ever brought into the academy.
• The Hollow make an unusually aggressive attack against Onyx on 10.19
• 10.22 sees a group called the Freebirds launch a protest against the Onyx military.
• A military shipment of Arcanite is stolen on 10.28 and blamed on the Red Fangs - a silenus group that are framed as terrorists.

…And that’s it! That gives you a pretty solid understanding of the major, non-gravity specific events that have taken place and sets the stage for what’s happening in the game right now. While not necessary, I do suggest players to read the scenes from the timeline linked above specifically: Crime Spree Broadcast, Unity Tournament Announcement, Hollow Attack Onyx, Freebird Uprising, and Arcanite Heist. These are each single storyteller posts, self-contained scenes, so they should be pretty quick and easy to get through.

Likewise I encourage you to read the various articles (specifically those under Lore of Toil in the post linked above) in the World of Toil thread, as they will likely answer a lot of the questions you have about the setting. But you absolutely do not need to, this post should give you sufficient enough knowledge to get you going, and you can peek at those posts when you have time/interest.

All of this is to say that while lots of stuff has happened in the game so far, it has happened largely specifically to the team of characters, and not on a broader scale that would require you to come into the game with ~800 posts of knowledge. Yay!

[Aethyrium]

Why do characters have stats?
Largely to provide distinction between different styles. There are no “right answers”. Think of these as the stats you might assign to a professional athletes, rather than TTRPG stats. We might say that George Foreman is ‘stronger’ than Muhammad Ali, but Ali is ‘faster’. They’re intended to be an abstraction of general capability and ability to learn. They may get used behind the scenes to dictate fair outcomes in non-trivial combat.

You don’t need to roll dice, or likely ever refer to your stats again after character creation - except, perhaps, to improve them. They’re a GM tool.

It’s worth noting that characters (and all squires) are considerably more skilled than the average person. Each character is given a free 2 dots in each stat, and this represents a skill level that is above 95% of people. Characters are intended to be bad ass already, and on a road to refining that and getting better. But remember! Just because they’re already skillful does not mean they are masters or prodigal, and such concepts should probably be avoided without talking to me first.

How many players are you recruiting? Small group, is it though?
E X A L T E D currently has 5 players, plus myself. I am looking to add a full team of 6 new characters. However, I am prepared to take as few as 4 if that’s all we get, which will have a story impact that will be discussed upon selection. The ultimate decision between 4 and 6 will be made once I see the concepts submitted.

In total this will bring us to 12 players. However, it is important to remember that the characters are separated into teams that operate largely independently. What this means, practically, is that you will have the freedom of having lots of players to explore the sandbox of the world with, but most commonly, you will be operating in tighter groups when it comes to playing the games “main story” in the form of chapters and interludes.

Though that may get mixed up from time to time!

I’m a broody loner and don’t want to play nice with people! I’m such a bad guy, with such dark desires!
That sucks, go find another game.

Really these concepts just don’t have a place here. While having an edge is fine, the core conceit of this game is a group of people coming together and doing the things. If you don’t wanna be a part of that, or make a character who is unwilling (read: resistant is not the same as unwilling) isn’t going to fit in here. You will be told to fix it, if it comes up, and removed if you don’t. The same goes for being a bad guy. The characters here are heroes, they’re white hats, largely, and while there is room to express nuance and more, veering too far away from this is going to lead to unfun complications.

This is the game you are signing up for. Don’t try to go against the grain, it won’t work out for you.

Teams have leaders! And the other characters have squads. And cool names! What is all of ours?
All of this can only be determined once characters have been selected. Once I have the selected roster, I will be able to tell you what characters are paired into squads, what those names are, who the team leader is, and what its name is. As well as where it performed in the original team challenge. Stay tuned.

I want to come from somewhere other than Johtan/Onyx, may I?
The short answer is no. In fact, ideally, all characters from this round of recruitment will come from Onyx specifically. Traveling around the world is rare, and in the first round of recruitment we already (unintentionally) opened the door to a lot of characters who came from far away. Most people, unless they are Champions, don’t ever leave the place they are born.

If your concept requires so deeply that you be from somewhere else, you’re welcome to pitch it to me. But a few notes… First, this is not a challenge. Do not try to pitch ideas to be from elsewhere just because you can. Secondly, if you are going to be from somewhere else, you really need to be a very story-relevant reason why you’re not there. Something I can play with and is interesting, so you’ll need to bring your best work.

What is the general tone of E X A L T E D
The game is intended to be heroic, but there are and will be consequences to actions. The characters will have plenty of triumphs, but they’re also going to have failures - ones you can’t avoid. Some born from their own doings, that they will have to confront and own being responsible for. You won’t win every fight, and you’re going to lose people - not characters, they’ll always manage to get out alive, but I make no promises that you won’t get maimed and have to adopt robot parts! Things that are important to the characters will be challenged, and you should not come into this game assuming that everyone and everything will come out unscathed.

On the other hand, the central idea of the game is the rise and triumph of heroes, and that will be showcased. Characters are going to be allowed to excel and be badass, and kick bad guy ass. You’ll save the day sometimes, and maybe have to fall back to fight another day other times.

From a story perspective, the game is getting darker. Peace has existed for a long time - historically, pre-game - but there are forces conspiring to undo all of that. So expect that, over time, things will escalate and bigger puzzle pieces will crumble.

The world of Toil is vaguely anime and uses that in its expression. Things are over the top, characters are encouraged to do neat stuff like eccentric combo attacks. Expect to see and indulge in beyond realistic portrayals of action. Characters are shielded by their Soul, so they can take gunshots, and generally heal pretty quickly. They can get thrown through walls and stand back up. You might have an epic battle in the middle of a magma cavern that is in the process of erupting, without getting burned alive.

What is the world like, from an in-character perspective?
Dangerous and tense. The Hollow are an ever present thread, drawn to humanity. Travel is difficult and dangerous, and largely inaccessible. Most of Toils people live in the great cities (Onyx, Emerald, Ruby, Sapphire, and Pearl) - just about 88% of Toil’s entire population can be found within one of these five locations. While settlements elsewhere aren’t unheard of, and there are a few less major cities, living outside the great cities is a huge risk. Small villages are dotted across the landscape, but they’re never more than a bad day from being reduced to ruin - and the number of failed villages is far greater than successful ones.

Cars exist, but they’re a luxury most people do not have. Cellphones (or devices like them) exist. But technology on Toil evolved through the use of Arcanite - there isn’t electricity as we understand it. Things that would be impossible in our world are very possible in Toil - like weapons having modes they can easily transform between. But other things are not the same, such as there being no space travel in Toil, thus no satellites, thus cellphones are made effective by a different type of communications network that relies on grounded towers within the five great cities. Global networks are much less stable, and though the world is at peace this does not make the kingdoms allies, further making situations turbulent.

Everything is powered by Arcanite, there are no fossil fuels on Toil. Tech is both greater in some aspects, and lesser in others, than what we might see in our own world. Toil is a hostile world, and it is out to kill you. The life of the average person is not comfortable, and most efforts are spent to get by and defend against the Hollow - this is even more true if you’re not in a great city. Education is not of paramount importance, people learn skills and trades, rather than being educated generally and given the ability to pick their path. Because of the rampant destruction of the Hollow, written text is hard, thus history is recorded and lost by word of mouth in a lot of cases - though that has started to shift in the last 100 years or so, as the kingdoms have become even more grounded post the great war.

If a player leaves the story what happens?
We mourn them, I am sad, and then I take over the character as an NPC, using them to further the story to whatever end. I will then attempt to find a replacement character to take their place, and come up with some narrative reason to make it all work out.

How do I submit a sheet?
Grab the code, fill it out, and post it in this thread for discussion!

The current plan is to keep recruitment open until 4.28 4.30 (or so, there's time, and we'll wait for good submissions!), and then select characters. Then have some time to work with the players who are selected as a group to work out some details and get them ready for play. It’s currently assumed that the 1.04 timespan will be around 5.5, and the plan is to spend time getting players ready to jump in with the fun happenings of that chapter. Details to be revealed after selection and as we get closer to that.


Important Creation Notes; must read

Unlike the game's original recruitment, this is happening when the IC world has already progressed some. We’re not coming up with a contrived reason to introduce the new cast of characters, instead, assuming that they’ve been in the background this whole time doing their own things.

This requires you, as the writer, to make some adjustments and buy-in. Most of this can be found on the updated character sheet below, but I want to talk about the specifics of what you should keep in mind and be angling toward.

Your characters joined Hammer Academy on 9.27. They were made part of a squad on 9.29. The three squads were combined into a team on 10.2. The first IC date you will be playing in is 11.7. This means your characters have been operating as a unit and more or less living together for one month prior to you when you will first write (if you choose to write historical scenes, that’s completely welcome) in the game. This has implications and impact that you should be prepared for, and make room to facilitate, including but not limited to:

• Characters should already have a generally established rapport with one another. This does not need to be perfect, harmonious, or otherwise flawless. But major breakdowns in communication, unwillingness or resistance to cooperation, or other “rough around the edges” things should already have been solved by the group, or be on the way to being solved. If your intent is to try this, you will need to be very communicative with your peers so they know what their character’s already know, and how they have learned to cope and still move forward together.
• Your character should have already established some bonds with some or all of their teammates. They have been doing stuff together for a month, and living in close proximity, it is inevitable that they will have - at bare minimum - started to come together.
• Enough time has passed that the other characters of your team should have a general idea about you. They’ve gotten to know each other. This does not mean that you cannot have secrets or things that are still unknown - it’s only been a month - but does suggest that you should be forthcoming with sharing details with your teammates. If you want to be total mysteries to someone, there’s an entire 6 other characters that you can write with who don’t need to have any of this already established stuff.
• Each player is going to be expected to create a ‘bonding event’ that they shared with one or more characters on the team. We’ll discuss these as a group, once characters are selected. The intention is that these are like ‘scenes’ you might have written in the last IC month, had the characters been in the forefront. This will help give them some grounding and let them come together more naturally. Likewise, it’s going to be strongly encouraged that players talk about moments characters have shared and what they’ve been up to in this last month - so expect a fair few group questions from me to help you get settled in! So please come prepared to engage and do some brain fun stuff with everyone!

And, finally, let’s take a quick glance at the character’s already in play, team gRAVIty!

diLeMMA

Lyreilynn (played by FyreFoxx) and Marlowe (played by Aethyrium)

Lyreilynn comes from a wealthy family with an important name across Toil, much to her displeasure. She’s at Hammer to make a name for herself that doesn’t rely on the clout that she was born into. Often timid, she’s a bit of a bookworm, with some self confidence issues. Marlowe is a small town girl with big dreams, who came from nothing but isn’t content to settle for that. She came to Hammer to make a name for herself. Good spirited and eager, Marlowe is all heart and no brains, with a distinct lack of understanding about personal space, and her own personal identity.

MoFeTTE

Farrah (played by Envious) and Meena (played by Crash)

Farrah’s history is still unfolding, and is a convoluted mess filled with a healthy sprinkle of personal tragedy. Her arrival at Hammer is a promise to a lost friend manifested in a life she never intended to live. Embodied by boldness and a strong punch first, ask questions later attitude, Farrah’s the team's resident firecracker. Meena traveled to Onyx from a far away land in Hoenan, all because she had a dream to be a Champion. A combat medic with a heart of gold, Meena is trying her best in a world that keeps telling her it can’t be done.

ConViCT

Chee (played by shengami) and Vesper (played by Intimate Ink)

Chee is a recent addition to the team, picked up on their last mission where Haimehen was lost. Formerly a new mercenary, Chee was biding his time to enter Hammer when the opportunity suddenly presented itself. He’s an adrenaline junky, with a love of exploration, and a dislike for talking. He’s at Hammer to become the very type of person that he idolizes. Vesper is a backwater swamp boy who has run away from his responsibilities to take up a mantle meant for his brother. Driven by logic and rationality, Vesper is a steady compass still figuring out who he should be.

The current players might swing in and ask questions about characters, and I encourage everyone to reply! This can help facilitate some plotting and understanding across the teams!

Code (Character Sheet) Select Expand

[float=right][font=courier]Strength ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Stamina  ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Speed    ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Shimmer  ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Soul     ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Brawl    ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Melee    ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Ranged   ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

[center][b]Elemental Affinity | Weakness[/b]
? | ?

[b]Terrain Specialty | Weakness[/b]
? | ?

[/float][float=left][center][size=12pt][b]CHARACTER NAME[/b][/size]
[img]https://dummyimage.com/225x300.jpg[/img]
[color=black]WRITER NAME[/float]
[b]Ancestry[/b]: ?
[b]Gender | Pronouns[/b]: ? | ?
[b]Sexuality[/b]: ?

[b]Age[/b]: ?
[b]Height[/b]: ?
[b]Body Build[/b]: ?
[b]Hair Color[/b]: ?
[b]Eye Color[/b]: ?

[center][b]Weapon[/b]
?

[b]Shimmer[/b]
?

[b]Special Trait - ?[/b]
?

[/center][b]Where were you born? Whom, if anyone, do you consider family? Where are they, and what is your relationship with them like?[/b]

[b]What sort of life did you have before you decided to attend a Battle Academy? How did people react to your decision?[/b]

[b]Why have you decided to become a Champion? What are your goals, your reasons, and your fears?[/b]

[b]How did you acquire your skills before coming to Hammer? Who taught you?[/b]

[b]What is your greatest accomplishment or thing you are most proud of? What is your greatest failure or thing you regret the most?[/b]

[hr]
[b][i]Briefly talk about your character's initial reaction to being partnered and then teamed. Were they excited? Hard to work with? Distant? Friendly and engaging?[/i][/b]
(Note: You don't need a lot of details here, but just enough to give people an idea of the sort of person they met initially. You'll work out specifics with the team/squads once characters are selected. Delete this note, and replace with your answer)

[b][i]List three (or more!) notably truths about you that your teammates have learned over the last month together.[/i][/b]
(Note: These should be deeper than surface level things, but do not necessarily need to be dredged from the depths of the characters soul, either. These should be things that others can use to inform what they know about a character, and inspire situations that might have come up. On that same note, these should be generic enough truths that they wouldn't require someone special digging to find it out. An example might be that Marlowe doesn't care about her family, because they turned their back on her! Doesn't that make you want to know more? Yeah, like that! You can be as detailed as you think is applicable. Delete this note, and replace with your answers)

[b][i]List one or more (different!) things that people outside of your team might have noticed about you while attending Hammer[/i][/b]
(Note: These should be notable that they stood out enough that people might form a distant opinion. For instance, Lolo is extremely touchy feely and sexually forward with basically everyone - whether they invited it or not. Delete this note, and replace with your answer(s))

[b][i]List two or more things that you have done in the last month, beyond going to classes and learning?[/i][/b]
(Note: What have they gotten up to in the last month that isn't going to classes and learning to be a better Champion? For instance, Marlowe went to a secret underground brawling club and beat the champion, winning 5,000 cor (the money of Toil)! You don't need to detail every moment, but you should include enough details for me (or others) to build off of. Feel free to leave this open ended that you did it with <someone>, to create spots where other characters might have gotten involved with you! Delete this note, and replace with your answers)

[b][i]List a few (3-5) things that you values and seems to play a role in how you interact with the world.[/i][/b]
(Note: For instance, Marlowe appreciates wealth and high society, fashion, and climbing trees. You should assume that your teammates will be aware of everything listed here. Delete this note...)

[b][i]Finally, come up with one plot hook that you would like to explore with your teammates. Something about your character / their story that you're very eager to showcase or have play an early role in their experience.[/i][/b]
(Note: This could be anything! You could have more than one. Think of these plot hooks as things for other players to grab onto and engage that preemptively excite you. Delete...)
[hr]


When you're looking to create your character these are the things to know.

Every Champion is broadly evaluated in eight categories, which are rated on a scale of 0 to 7. To qualify to enter a Battle Academy, an individual must meet a minimum of 2 in each category - this is why each of your stats has 2 dots already filled in. Beyond that you may spend an additional 16 dots across these categories, distributed any way you like. While some of these should be self explanatory, Soul acts as a defensive tool that absorbs damage but also is what allows you to make use of Arcanite. If you plan on making use of a lot of elemental effects, higher Soul means more reliability in that regard. Shimmer determines the strength, reliability, and consistency of your Shimmer and gets used to determine if it can accomplish any given task, or how it stands up to whatever random situation.

All people in Toil are born with an echo of magic, this is their Shimmer. A Shimmer is a magical ability that does not require Arcanite to power. Shimmer's can be basically anything, but they should be specific. You're welcome to design any ability you'd like, but be prepared to discuss with the GM and dial it based on feedback if needed. A character's Shimmer can be passive or active, beneficial or harmful, combat oriented or story oriented, there are no specific restrictions - they are as varied as the people who wield them.

A Champion is a weapon, and to that end they must have a weapon themselves. Each character should design a weapon that they use - it can be anything, as fantastical or as mundane as you like. Each weapon can (but does not need to) have two modes (such as a staff that is a staff, but transforms into a sniper rifle; or a katana that folds and reveals a six-shot revolver). The only limit here is your imagination, want a rocket launcher? Take a rocket launcher. Just be prepared to adhere to the generally associated fantasy (a rocket launcher is strong! But also slow!). Additionally you may give your weapon a property. These properties are like semi-minor magical effects that typically play into how it gets used / the Champion's style. The property should also be specific - something that has lightning should be a stun gun or throw a lightning bolt, but not both... At least until you earn an upgrade somewhere down the lines!

There are six elements in Toil. These are primal forces, like we might describe gravity or electromagnetism - Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Lightning, and Sonic. Like Shimmers, all people are born with a natural affinity and aversion to one or more of these. You will need to pick one or two elements to be strong with / against, and one or two elements to be weak with / against. These also impact your ability to manipulate Arcanite of a specific color - it's always doable, but working with Arcanite for an element that you are weak against is, for instance, much more difficult and more likely to go wrong. If you select only 1 element it is considered a "major" positive/negative, whereas if you have 2 elements, they are both considered "moderate". You can, if you desire, select one affinity and two aversions or vice versa.

Champions all develop fighting styles, and places that they are most familiar with. Being in a terrain that favors your style, comfort, adaptability, familiairty, etc is going to benefit you and make you look even more keen. Whereas being in one that is hard for you for some reason, or unfamiliar, is going to penalize you. You'll need to pick, just like elements, one or two terrains to be skilled in and one or two to be bad with. There are eight types of basic terrain - Mountain, Forest, Desert, Swamp, Urban, Aquatic, Arctic, Grassland.

Each race has a specific benefit as noted above. This is simple, unless a Silenus, which should note what their animal trait is (every Silenus has one or two; such as ears, tails, claws, fur, etc) and then also a unique advantage based on that animal. This trait can be manifested as a "+1 dot" in any stat other than Shimmer or Soul, with whatever justification (a pair of horns might give +1 Brawl, for instance). But they may also be more abstract, such as a feline Silenus with enhanced grace, or who always lands on their feet.

Finally, each character has a special trait. This is assigned by the GM, influenced by the person you make. It's a sort of honed natural talent that your character unexpectedly developed that will aid them to varying degrees during gameplay. But you're welcome to make some suggestions that inspire you!

[Aethyrium]

[Crash]

Join us!

[Amarlo]

I have decided to come out of my long hiatus with interest in Exalted. ^^ I plan to offer up a Silenus. It might take me a few days... possibly even until the due date -- because I am an annoying worrywart perfectionist -- but I will get something up!

[Crash]

Amarlo!!!!!!

And a fellow Silenus!  <3

What animal species traits are you looking at?

[Amarlo]

I'm thinking either cat or corvid.

Hello again, Crash. ^^

[Crash]

Ooo.  Both nice.

[shengami]

Hi! An avian would be neat. Looking forward to whatever idea you have even if I don't know you... heh

[Miss Nyx]

It’s like week of the awesome games or something! I’ve been creeping on Exalted since it started, I love the lore and world building you put into it Aethy. If I wasn’t up to my neck in dues, I’d so try to snag a spot… but it feels only fair to let people who can keep up with your story have at it, I’m slow these days.

Just thought I’d say again this one is RP gold! 🤩 

[Crash]

Hi Miss Nyx.  The games main plot is one post every 5 days or so.  The other posting is optional.  I usually post to my optional scenes weekly or once every couple of weeks. Not sure that makes a difference for you, but thought I would let you know as someone in the game already who has a lot of time constraints.

[shengami]

It's true! Crash and Ink both keep up while posting weekly. It'd be awesome to get more time with you, Nyx!

But you know your limits. And respecting a game enough to consider whether you can really contribute (timewise) is a good quality in a player.

[Aethyrium]

I have decided to come out of my long hiatus with interest in Exalted. ^^ I plan to offer up a Silenus. It might take me a few days... possibly even until the due date -- because I am an annoying worrywart perfectionist -- but I will get something up!

You? Snuggling up to a deadline to make a sheet? I cannot imagine.

Though on that note, for everyone interested, I say the 28th, but there's a non-zero chance we'll extend it a bit past that. The goal is to try and sync the new team coming in and the current timespan the active players are, as closely and smoothly as possible. I'll make an update in the faq to reflect this.

Excited to see what you come up with!

It’s like week of the awesome games or something! I’ve been creeping on Exalted since it started, I love the lore and world building you put into it Aethy. If I wasn’t up to my neck in dues, I’d so try to snag a spot… but it feels only fair to let people who can keep up with your story have at it, I’m slow these days.

Just thought I’d say again this one is RP gold! 🤩

Awww, thank you so much Nyx! <3 Darn being eaten by other stuff. But I appreciate the cheerleading regardless!

[VVitch]

Very interested, as you know!

[Crash]

Welcome VVitch!

[VVitch]

Welcome VVitch!

Hi, thank you!

[FyreFoxx]

It’s like week of the awesome games or something! I’ve been creeping on Exalted since it started, I love the lore and world building you put into it Aethy. If I wasn’t up to my neck in dues, I’d so try to snag a spot… but it feels only fair to let people who can keep up with your story have at it, I’m slow these days.

Just thought I’d say again this one is RP gold! 🤩

This is a shame! I'd love to steal you for this place.

Though, like it's already been stated, we have a few who aren't super active but still keep up where it counts! That could totally be you, too! *nudge nudge*

[shengami]

This is a shame! I'd love to steal you for this place.

Though, like it's already been stated, we have a few who aren't super active but still keep up where it counts! That could totally be you, too! *nudge nudge*

Steal Nyx from me for me? I'm conflicted. There's too many people I adore involved...

[Aethyrium]

Oops!

It appears that the section that details how to make a character - like, how to assign stats, and elemental affinities, and all of that - accidentally got left out yesterday while constructing the post.

That has now been remedied so you know how to do that. It's beneath the character sheet where it was always meant to be. Sorry about that!

[Miss Nyx]

Okay, between the three of you I can’t resist…  I also had a dream about creating a character for Exalted so I’m gonna take it as a sign and trust in my muse to be able to pull this off with the rest of the things I’m writing! 🤣

I’ll have a CS for you in the next day Aethy!

[Lyrical]

early submission / WIP / looking for feedback

also, not sure if i copied the code wrong but at first it was all centered and I had to fiddle with it to move it around

first draft

Strength ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Stamina  ●● |  ● ○ ○ ○ ○
Speed    ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Shimmer  ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Soul    ●● | ● ● ● ○ ○
Brawl    ●● | ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
Melee    ●● | ● ● ○ ○ ○
Ranged  ●● | ● ● ● ● ●

Elemental Affinity | Weakness
Earth & Water | Fire (major)
Terrain Specialty | Weakness
Forest & Mountain | Dessert (major)

Bri'elle "Bri" Whitewater

Lyrical

Ancestry:  human
Gender | Pronouns: she | her
Sexuality: heteroflexible

Age: 18
Height: 4'11"
Body Build: slim
Hair Color: black
Eye Color: dark brown

Weapon
Gun/Sword worn across her back = It's a double bladed two-handed great sword [180 cm (71 in)] with two blades, one shorter than the other, and a sort of cylinder/barrel up the middle that has filigree all over the blade and cylinder. It has a robust but ornate cross guard and handle. The gun fires a high powered round (like a .50 caliber)

Shimmer
Can pull up small mounds of earth/rock that can be used as a couple steps or something to hide behind but she has to put her hand on the ground to do it. Because she also possesses an affinity to water she is able to breathe under water.

Special Trait - ?
?  (i think this is assigned by GM?)


Where were you born? Whom, if anyone, do you consider family? Where are they, and what is your relationship with them like?

Born in Onyx Prairie, Bri's family lived outside the city as they owned large tracks of land dotted with farms. Her family has since moved into the city but still owns the land and farms that are leased out to farmers for sharecropping. Bri has a large family with several older and younger siblings as well as extended family members including aunts, uncles, and cousins that also live in the same homes that she grew up in. Her family has a large compound in the city with multiple family dwellings all within the same home. The home is a large structure that takes up a small city block, walled on the outside, and has a large center courtyard only accessible by going through the home. All of the residences look out over the courtyard. They are not the richest family but are well respected in the community and considered a powerful family due to their size and wealth. Each head of the separate families all have different business mostly connected to food/farming in some capacity; production, transportation, and sales. There is a total of twelve families. The food business side of the family is all from her mother with her father's side of the family being military members going back many generations and having served with honorable distinction.

What sort of life did you have before you decided to attend a Battle Academy? How did people react to your decision?

Bri's family believe that all of their children should work on the farms to learn hard labor so she often spent planting and harvest seasons with the crops and working on various family businesses doing physical labor. Though she did receive a certain amount of more formal education through junior cadet courses and such due to her father's families tradition of military service. Due to her small stature it was decided early on that a life in the military was not going to be for her, however she still continually insisted on training and learning fighting, shooting, and strategy as much as she could.

Her father understood her need to join and her mother accepted it, supported it but there was/is an underlying hope that she'll fail out and come back home, "where she belongs."

Why have you decided to become a Champion? What are your goals, your reasons, and your fears?

Bri entered Battle Academy as a way to bypass size restrictions that are in place for military service. She wanted to do her part to help protect Johtan and Onyx. It was a call that she couldn't resist. The Hollow needs to be stopped and she has the gifts to do it.

The goal and reason is simple; protect Johtan and the world to keep it from falling to The Hollow.

Fear is that she won't be strong enough, that the military is right and that she really is too small and too weak to fight.. but most of all it's the fear that those things will get someone else hurt.

How did you acquire your skills before coming to Hammer? Who taught you?

Physically, most of her practical skills came from junior cadet training and messing around with her brothers, sisters, and cousins as they played war games when not at junior academy. But Bri was fortunate enough to have a couple trainers that recognized her shimmer and helped with the early encouragement and training of that. IN fact, she's pretty sure that it was them that gave her the internal recommendations for going to Battle Academy.

What is your greatest accomplishment or thing you are most proud of? What is your greatest failure or thing you regret the most?

In her last year of junior cadets, Bri's squad captured the tournament war game flag. It was a big moment for her and came with a commendation even as they were telling her that she'd never be allowed to go to the next level and join the military. Which is also her biggest failure, she tried to argue it and made an appeal case but the rules were strict and she was never going to be allowed in.

Briefly talk about your character's initial reaction to being partnered and then teamed. Were they excited? Hard to work with? Distant? Friendly and engaging?

Bouncing with excitement at being partnered up and teamed. If anything, her over enthusiasm might have been annoying to some people. Bri is both friendly and engaging most of the time.

List three (or more!) notably truths about you that your teammates have learned over the last month together.

1)  Bri is a middle child and felt a little lost as both she has a big family and she's sort of the runt of the litter.
2)  Bri has never dated.
3)  Bri is obviously a bit pale. She doesn't do well in the sun when it's hot out.
4) Her weapon is a family heirloom

List one or more (different!) things that people outside of your team might have noticed about you while attending Hammer

1)  Pale and usually wears black and red  (back in cadets they called her a vampire)
2)  She's very short, people often mistake her for a child or don't take her seriously

List two or more things that you have done in the last month, beyond going to classes and learning?

?  (WIP)

List a few (3-5) things that you values and seems to play a role in how you interact with the world.

1) Loyalty to country and family/friends
2) Deep respect for the rules
3) Admires effort and intent
4) Always dresses well, very neat, clean, and orderly. (Her belongings are fashionable and well taken care of)

Finally, come up with one plot hook that you would like to explore with your teammates. Something about your character / their story that you're very eager to showcase or have play an early role in their experience.

The smol girl with the big gun/sword - gets her ass handed to her by a bully = Bri's fears come true in the first months of Battle Academy and she is made to feel that she is too small and doesn't belong here.

See new post here for updated and submitted character sheet:
https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=357953.msg16712391#msg16712391

[Crash]

Hi Lyrical!  Nice to see a WIP go up.  I was curious.  Did Bri excel at the junior cadet level?  You mentioned she got a recommendation from trainers.

Smol girl w a big gun sounds fun.  Are there areas you were looking to flesh out still on her background?

[Crash]

Okay, between the three of you I can’t resist…  I also had a dream about creating a character for Exalted so I’m gonna take it as a sign and trust in my muse to be able to pull this off with the rest of the things I’m writing! 🤣

I’ll have a CS for you in the next day Aethy!

Yay for positive peer pressure! 😆

[FyreFoxx]

Okay, between the three of you I can’t resist…  I also had a dream about creating a character for Exalted so I’m gonna take it as a sign and trust in my muse to be able to pull this off with the rest of the things I’m writing! 🤣

I’ll have a CS for you in the next day Aethy!

YES! IT WORKED!

*starts plotting in the background*