Reaching Heaven (Exalted Essence Interest Check)

[ShadowFox89]

In the depths of space, in a system the Lunar Empire has long abandoned and forgotten, there is a planet where things discarded are left to rot and rust. Cilian's Folly, once a planet known across the Empire for it's robust industrial centers and the amazing wonders produced, is now a cesspool of broken down machinery and automata operating on code long forgotten. It is here you have awakened. How did you get here, how do you get off? Do you want to get off?

Well, that's for you to decide and figure out.

Hello and welcome folks. Going to give a shot of my own at running an Exalted Essence game (again), with a bit of a twist. Instead of taking place in the standard setting of Exalted, this will take place in an AU setting from the 2e supplement "Shards of an Exalted Dream" called Heaven's Reach. The main difference between the vanilla setting and Heaven's Reach is that the setting is a space opera style as opposed to a heroic bronze age fantasy. Humans aren't alone in the universe, there are countless alien species out there, but none of them have what humanity has- Exaltations. The Lunar Empire, run by the Lunar Exalted themselves, is the primary faction of humanity. Spread across thousands of worlds working with the Lunar Empire are the Dragon-Blooded Exalted. Layered over the material world is the Celestial Mountain where "spirits", artificial beings created by the Exalted, help run reality in the background.
Exalted in Heavens Reach are more akin to pulp heroes than Sun Wukong or Gilgamesh. The universe is much larger in scale than even Creation and the power scale raises to match- The most powerful of Exalts could punch a starship in half in a single punch but they still wouldn't be able to stop a sun from going super nova without sorcery or artifice. All exalt types will be considered for this with the exception of Exigents, they're a bit too finicky for me to work around right now.
Characters will start off on a planet that has largely been left abandoned by the galaxy at large. Political rivals, criminals, those fleeing from justice or rivals, or simply those who don't have anywhere else to go find Gondjak's Refuge as their final option. Once a thriving ecumenopolis, the planet is now run down and in ruin. Ancient automata and undead alike stalk it's rusted streets and decaying urban canyons, posing a threat to anyone who does end up here.

Edit: realized I forgot to include the link for the setting file. Please follow this link for Sandact's excellent adaption https://forum.theonyxpath.com/forum/main-category/exalted/1157808-shards-of-a-compass-heaven-s-reach-pdf

If this perks your interest, please fill out the following sheet:

Name: Character name, obviously
Gender/Pronouns: Male, female, nonbinary, fluid and he/she/they
Exalt type and caste/aspect: Dragon-blooded/Lunar/Sidereal/Solar/Abyssal/Alchemical/Getimian/Infernal/Liminal and associated caste or aspect

History: Doesn't need to be long. I'd prefer if it wasn't a novel, honestly. Details can be added later and discussed. Should be long enough to cover the interesting bits but short enough to keep my interest. Characters should be 18+ so give them a history that matches.

Character goals: What does your character want to do? Conquer a planet, find the lost stellar forge and create a blade that can slice through time and space?

Player goals: Different from character goals, what do you want to get out of this? Do you want to have the story of someone rising from nothing, getting to the top, and then growing corrupt from that power? Do you want the story of a valiant knight avenging his mentor's killer? Player goals and character goals don't always line up and I find that those make the most interesting of stories.

Character Ons/Offs: If you've played on E long enough, you know what this is.

Player Ons/Offs: Same for the previous

[Pumpkin Seeds]

Would need to finally read Exalted Essence but can I place a tentative flag for this one?

[AndyZ]

Let me think on this one

[Revelation]

Interested but will need a day or so to plot.

[Pumpkin Seeds]

Some reason an Alchemical is really just playing in my head. Need to read up on them.

[Revelation]

I've been dying to play a Lunar type character. Either full moon or casteless. A warrior type, so I think I will be going with that.

[Empyrean]

I've got an idea for either a Sidereal or a Twilight. :)

[Angie]

I could be down for this. Exalted Essence is not as rules crunchy as I usually like but I'm down for some space opera.

[Empyrean]

Name: Selesere Fleuret
Gender/Pronouns: Female. She/her
Exalt type and caste/aspect: Getimian, Summer

History: Pelephon Fleuret, leader of the Sidereals of the Grand Celestial Mountain, had it all. Wealth, power, authority, the whole bit. And he had a plan. A master vision for how the cosmos should be, and the means to make his vision come true. The only thing he didn't have in the end, was time. This great seer and visionary, who advised His Divine Lunar Presence and coordinated the spirit courts of the GCM, simply ran out of time and died, passing due to a massive heart attack.

Before he died, Pelephon had a passing affair with a street prostitute, one of many who had "serviced" the great man over the long years. As usual, Pelephon changed Fate so that nothing would come of the affair. But this time, Fate had other plans. In a burst of perhaps irony, Pelephon's daughter Selesere came into being on Gondjak's Refuge. In her Origin, she had been a gutter-snipe who had bounced through the Imperial foster care system after being abandoned by a father she'd never known. Filled with rage at her mistreatment, she had organized the slum-dwellers and led a successful revolt on Imperial Center, toppling the Lunar Emperor and bringing about a new order.

She was *very* surprised to wake up on Gondjak's Refuge in the actual Creation. But once she had her bearings, her course seemed clear. There was an oppressive Realm to be overthrown. Best to get to it.


Character goals: She wants to topple the Lunar Realm.

Player goals: I've never played a sneaky rogue type before, so this will be an new experience for me and I want to see if a fiery revolutionary could be playable.

Player Offs: Nothing that belongs in a toilet, pain, blood.
Player Ons: Breastplay, cumplay.

[ShadowFox89]

Name: Chejop Kejak
Gender/Pronouns: Female. She/her
Exalt type and caste/aspect: Sidereal, Secrets

History: Pelephon Fleuret, leader of the Sidereals of the Grand Celestial Mountain, had it all. Wealth, power, authority, the whole bit. And he had a plan. A master vision for how the cosmos should be, and the means to make his vision come true. The only thing he didn't have in the end, was time. This great seer and visionary, who advised His Divine Lunar Presence and coordinated the spirit courts of the GCM, simply ran out of time and died, passing due to a massive heart attack.

The Exaltation of the Sidereals' leader would have to be passed on, but to who, and how? The answer came in the form of Chejop Kejak. Gutter-snipe, sneak-thief, occasional prostitute. Chejop was born on Imperial Center, capitol of the Empire, in one of the teeming slum districts that were effectively impossible to monitor and control. Oh it could probably be done, at tremendous cost and loss of life, but why bother? The slum-dwellers knew their places. They didn't trouble the sight of the grand and the good of the Empire. And those worthies sometimes found it convenient to have the lower classes around. For sport, if nothing else.

Chejop was born in the gutter and was expected by all, including her, to die there. Her parents, a prostitute and one of her johns, had little to do with her life and from the time she could walk and talk, she was a ward of the state. Haphazardly seen to by the Office of Imperial Childrens Welfare, she was bounced around the foster care system until she ran away from an abusive household at the age of 11. No one cared. She got by on the streets, doing whatever she had to to survive. She developed quick wits, a keen mind, fleet feet, and nimble fingers, all of which served her well. At least until the day she and the few friends she had made found themselves on the wrong side of some bored noble brats who had gone slumming and decided that hunting "slumrats" would be fun.

The short of it was that Chejop killed one of the "nobles" in self-defense and was looking at a murder rap until the Fateful Exaltation chose her just as the police showed up to arrest her. Exaltation protocols being clear, she was taken to be assessed and when it was discovered that she was the reincarnation of Pelephon Fleuret, the charges against her mysteriously disappeared. She was feted as the Imperial Advisor's second coming and ushered onto the GCM with all due pomp and circumstance. The lifestyle of the rich and famous settled poorly with the former streetrat, but when she went through her past life's diaries and discovered that a key component of his master plan could be found on some out of the way neglected world, that caught her interest. She snuck out to go and find it. 

Character goals: She wants to find the key element of her predecessor's master plan: a vault wherein the knowledge of how to create new, tamed Stellar Intelligences can be found.

Player goals: I've never played a sneaky rogue type before, so this will be an new experience for me and I want to see if Chejop can balance her instincts with her newfound fame and fortune.

Player Offs: Nothing that belongs in a toilet, pain, blood.
Player Ons: Breastplay, cumplay.

No, you cannot name your character Chejop Kejak.

[Empyrean]

Aww. Okay. I saw in the shards book that the leader of the Sids had been reincarnated in a woman named Chejop Kejak, but I can change it. I edited and changed the character's name, type, and backstory.

[Avalon29]

I'd be interested in this. Will probably end up updating my Liminal I didn't get to try before. 

[Hexed]

star wars meets jackie chan with a splash of cyberpunk?

[ShadowFox89]

 More like Star Wars meets Outlaw Star and Cowboy Bebop with a hint of Borderlands and Escaflowne.

 The plan is to have this going as a sandbox, and if folks want to help run things I'll take the assistance.

[Rashol]

Tentatively yes.
I might do DB if I do and there's room.
EDIT or Sidereal or ... Sorry um deathlords one can't remember their name.. ><

[Empyrean]

Abyssals? :)

[Revelation]

Question, do Casteless lunar exist in Heaven's reach? If so, are there any significant differences about them or would they just exist as another caste of lunars?

Sheet will come later today as I am working on it but backstory is always tricky tricky tricky.

[Revelation]

Name: Irisa
Gender: NB (‘Hermaphrodite’), prefers She/her pronouns.
Exalt: Full moon or Casteless Lunar (I am unsure just yet)

History: Hailing from one of the frontier worlds that even she doesn’t remember, Irisa is a woman with a brief history and until recently, most wouldn’t even know her name. Born the daughter of mercenaries, she had lived most of her life traveling on ships with her parents, oft secluded in safet when her parents were called to duty. Not that she was some sheltered child – it was expected that she’d follow her parents career as mercenaries and pirate hunters after all and as such, she was trained in the art of combat. Taking to said skills with ease, it was expected from most that she would be able to fight alongside the rest of her family who likewise worked in the same career.

And that was exactly what came to pass. By the time Irisa was an adult, the blonde haired woman had proven herself to be a deadly warrior who was eager to prove herself. While capable of bravura, she had enough wits about herself to not rush headlong recklessly into the fray. Despite her youth, Irisa quickly began to prove herself time and time over – with each victory earning her more and more attention from the higher ups in the mercnary organization her family was part of.Hailing from one of the frontier worlds that even she doesn’t remember, Irisa is a woman with a brief history and until recently, most wouldn’t even know her name. Born the daughter of mercenaries, she had lived most of her life traveling on ships with her parents, oft secluded in safet when her parents were called to duty. Not that she was some sheltered child – it was expected that she’d follow her parents career as mercenaries and pirate hunters after all and as such, she was trained in the art of combat. Taking to said skills with ease, it was expected from most that she would be able to fight alongside the rest of her family who likewise worked in the same career.

And that was exactly what came to pass. By the time Irisa was an adult, the blonde haired woman had proven herself to be a deadly warrior who was eager to prove herself. While capable of bravura, she had enough wits about herself to not rush headlong recklessly into the fray. Despite her youth, Irisa quickly began to prove herself time and time over – with each victory earning her more and more attention from those within her mercenary company… And those without. The attack against her company’s ship came without warning.

It is here her memory gets hazy. She recalls a beautiful woman, the vague memory of being exalted for a purpose. Finally, there is the hazy recollection of purpose. She is to hunt down those who attacked her family and ripped them away from her. Yet for her it is not about revenge, but justice and seeking answers.

Character goals: Vaguely, Irisa recalls her mercenary company being attacked, with both immediate family and those she’d call kin being killed to the last. She was rescued by someone and received an exaltation, but who? She cannot recall. What she does know, is she wants to find this woman again, and to have justice for those who were taken from her. However how does one start when they can scarcely recall the details?

Player goals: Mostly just test out Essence. Have fun with a character, and maybe some high octane action and drama. A romance with a pretty lady and Irisa perhaps?

Player offs: Toiletplay, gore, hard noncon, excesive pain.
Player ons: See O&O’s in signature for broad strokes.



I posted some images for the character as well – I realize horns, ears, and tail may be a bit too much for a tell so I can scrounge around for something else if necessary! Or she can be like a beastwoman or something. Those exist in Reach, right?

[ShadowFox89]

Please see my edit in the OP.

[HairyHeretic]

I'd like to give it a go, but between moving and catching up on my own games, its probably going to be closer to the end of the month before I can properly commit to anything new.

[Rashol]

I'll try and edit this as I go but this is seriously all I have right now. Part of me says that "they" will either be Abyssal or Infernal. I would appreciate any assistance in getting this character working.

Name:
Gender/Pronouns:
Exalt type and caste/aspect:

History: Doesn't need to be long. I'd prefer if it wasn't a novel, honestly. Details can be added later and discussed. Should be long enough to cover the interesting bits but short enough to keep my interest. Characters should be 18+ so give them a history that matches.


Well that's it then.. I don't have to worry about eating reconstituted meat made from fungi anymore. No more painful nights of bare knuckle brawling to put more thalers in my account, or to be honest, whatever those bastards paid in. No more listening to scrap code in my ears as I try to build a working air trike from a lockpick and a broken radio.

It's not going to matter.

I was going to be free! Get off this crummy rock. Build the greatest starship they'd ever seen and leave this place behind. Wish I'd thought of this way earlier.

I made it through the prelims leaving bits of my bike behind me. I scraped it back together after every race. It's carried me so far. It deserves the rest.

Damned Delaina pranged me from behind, sent me way off course. That's the wall there. At least I'm going to make a splash.

Vices: Thrill seeker (Sure I mostly brawled for the money. But sometimes, when the tech wasn't cooperating, or the walls seemed blacker than ever then. Then. I fought for the heck of it. I would push my bike to hear it's engine scream, then I would scream right back at it.)

Fascinated by technology (you see all them dishes up on the towers. Ever wonder how they work? I do. See the great shadows as some cartel freighter or smugglers vessel come in over Dorga's Landing, ever wanted to be up there feeling the hum of it. I do.)

Virtue: Pragmatic (I guess. Look if I have to eat recycled garbage to stay alive fine. If that lead pipe is my only weapon, works for me. It doesn't mean I don't want better, I have to work with what I have.)

Character goals:

[Avalon29]

Reworked Jade Finger a bit to hopefully have them work a bit better with the setting and some light guessing on how Liminal's would work based on what I read in the setting file.

Name: Jade Finger of the Jackal
Gender/Pronouns: Male, He/him
Exalt type and caste/aspect: Breath Liminal
 
History: 5 years ago Jade was raised by his creator Mother of the Graveyard Method. An angry dragon blooded father who had spent years trying to bring a spirit back into a constructed body constructed from dead exalted, each attempt more and more radical eventually the Dark Mother took pity on the scientist and silently assisted them, nudging a soul back into the body and re-energizing the essence left in the body. That soul was Jade Finger or at least that’s what he was when was born that day.
On his awakening he was given a purpose, to assist the creator in her one desire, she wanted her dead family and friends who had been raised from the dead by whatever was animating the dead on the planet to find peace. He did his job slowly settling the final regrets of spirits and exterminating the undead. But still it was never enough for Mother of the Graveyard Method and it would not be until every member of her family was at peace and whatever was animating the dead was killed, no matter the cost. So Jade Finger kept up the work. Whether it was him becoming more known he dead for his deeds or simply a side effect of the Dark Mother’s touch, the dead were becoming quick to offer up their help for their own shot at settling last requests, creating an information network of spirits and their relatives that almost nobody else could see while his creator watches, funding Jade Finger’s escapades. Sending them further and further afield, never to stop until they plunged a dagger into the heart of whatever it was that was raising the dead.
 
Character goals: Satisfy Mother of the Graveyard Method’s goal of putting the dead to rest and destroy whatever being is controlling the undead.
 
Player goals: Wanted to see Jade Finger discovering their own purpose and gaining more independence. Balance growing radical desires of the creator with figuring out their own wants. Potentially tethering the life thread to someone else if their ends up being some kind of split with Graveyard Method.
 
Character Ons/Offs: Character is still figuring things out and recovering the meaning of living so has not found this out yet.
 
Player Ons/Offs:
Ons: Open to a lot of things romance, affection, bondage, toys, magic, generally switchy things and most stuff that would fall under more exotic or bdsm things.
Offs: Area bit easier: Not super into pain and do not like cheating/ntr stuff. The usual dirtier stuff like water sports, scat, and gore (for intimate scenes, non-sexual stuff is fine. Graphic fight scenes and such okay) are all no

[ShadowFox89]

Going through the characters later, will be giving notes on what's been submitted so far.

[Saric]

Just going to throw this out there if the game's not already closed.

Name: Fabrication of Hope
Gender/Pronouns: Hermaphrodite She/Her
Exalt type and caste/aspect: Twilight caste Solar

History: Hope was born on a tramp freighter running basic supplies and goods of dubious origin and quality to backwater ports no respectable trader would bother with. She was raised in the engine room, lulled to sleep by the hum of the drive as a babe, running along maintenance ducts and crawl-ways to replace burnt fuses and replace shorted wires. She learned to keep the systems running at the same time she learned to walk or read.

The ship's Spirit was her only friend and her keeper most days, not simply instructing her in how to maintain the systems she was assigned but downloading information packets and instructional guides for her whenever they were within range of a manse, often backing up extra data for her to study and explore in her free time on long voyages between stars.

As she grew older she started visiting manses to speak to the Guardian Spirits while the ship was in dock and began studying the ways of her largely incorporeal friends. Shortly after achieving adulthood the ship's anima circuits began failing while traversing Canal Space due to a faulty power coupling. Without a replacement and with no time to try and salvage one from another system she ended up bridging the gap with some scavenged parts and her own merely mortal body. She woke, a surprise in itself, in the broken remains of her ship home, crashed on Cilian's Folly, her body changed and herself unexpectedly exalted! The ships crew had departed sometime while she was unconscious and exalting and the Spirit lasted just long enough to tell her where she was, wish her luck, and say good bye before being forced to go dormant by the failing ship systems. Having spent her entire life repairing and restoring things, almost from birth itself, she now wants to use her newfound powers to restore important things, not merely to maintain minimum function, but to near perfection. Lesser objects and that which can not be restored are to be recycled to restore what can be yet saved.

Character goals: Restore the lost. Artifacts, ships, manses, cities, or even planets! More personally she wants to give her mentor spirit a pristine new form.

Player goals: I've never actually played Exalted before. Read lots of books, made several characters, never played. I'd really like to do a little of everything to experience what it's like, possibly develop a long term goal once I have any idea what I'm actually doing. :P

Character Ons: Hope's experience in such matters consist entirely of porn and instructional videos, she looks forward to exploring her options and learning what she likes best.
Character Offs: See below.

Player Ons: Lingerie, threesomes or moresomes, exotic bodies, enthusiasm, and breeding
Player Offs: Bathroom play, snuff, vore, vomit, pain, torture, mutilation, non-standard orifices (Mouth, ass, and pussy okay. But no nose, eyes, urethra, etc.)