Four thousand years ago, the Exalted realized they were losing the Primordial War. In a desperate move, they took as many of their human followers as they could and boarded the world-jouten of their ally Autochthon, fleeing the Spiral that was their home for the depths of space. They left behind the Unconquered Sun, who had been beaten into submission and forced to swear fealty to the Universe-Emperor Theion; they left behind Gaia, who grabbed the near-fatally wounded Luna and fled the Spiral aboard her own comet-ship Gnosis. The Five Maidens stole the Loom of Fate from Heaven and integrated it with Autochthon's crystalline core, instituting the Seal of Five Divinities and the Samkhya Heresy Protocols to prevent the Primordials and the Sun from tracking the fleeing Exalted by the prayers of traitors and the cycles of Celestial Exaltation.
The Solar Exalted rule over the Eight Nations of Autochthonia. It is their transcendent mastery of magitech that is still forging Autochthon into the Gunstar, the perfect weapon-world by which the titans can be defeated and the Spiral retaken for humanity.
The Lunar Exalted serve their mates in a variety of capacities. When the Dragon-Blooded pilots of the Gunstar Defense Line launch their voidfighters against the hellstars of the Green Sun Princes, the Lunars are there, needing no ships but taking on the forms of countless space-behemoths they have defeated. When new artifact-implants must be installed in the deepest Reaches of Autochthonia, the Lunars are there, adapting to impossible extremes of temperature, pressure and gravity, defending the crews of technicians against those of Autochthon's internal components that have never seen the face of Man. When Voidbringer cultists seek to open the hatches of the great world-titan to dark forces from without, the Lunars are there, infiltrating and bringing them to justice.
Without the Arcane Fate, the Sidereal Exalted are what the Maidens meant them to be, trusted advisors to the Solars. They predict and shape the course of events within and without Autochthon, interfacing with the great titan's exmachina to reweave his Design.
The Dragon-Blooded bear the brunt of the fighting. The voidfighter pilots of the Gunstar Defense Line, the commanders of the ground troops who repel boarders and drill endlessly for the day that the Gunstar returns to the Spiral, the savants and sorcerer-engineers who assist Solars in their laboratories, these are all chosen from among the Terrestrial Exalted.
The Alchemical Exalted are the Champions of the un-Exalted masses of Autochthonia, at once the visible face of authority to the people, and the defenders and advocates of the people in the councils of the Exalted. They are the only Exalts who see and participate in the day-to-day work that keeps all of Autochthonia running.
The Infernal Exalted (strictly NPCs) lead the Primordials' space-navy. Led by the Conquered Sun, they harrass the Gunstar constantly, tracking it across the stars, ever seeking its destruction. When they cannot triumph by force, they board the Gunstar under cover of diversionary battles, then use their Charms to subvert the populace within.
The Abyssal Exalted (strictly NPCs) are…an enigma. Sometimes void-pilots have reported strange black voidfighters appearing seemingly from nowhere to come to their aid, savagely attacking the Primordial forces, then disappearing as suddenly as they came. However, such sightings often presage seemingly unrelated disasters aboard Autochthon. Are these strange beings friend or foe?
PCs would be experienced Solar, Lunar, Sidereal, Terrestrial or Alchemical Exalted, built with more than starting points; I don't have the details nailed down yet. Nor do I know yet how much of the rules-as-written I want to chuck out the window. I'm far more interested in setting, plot and character than I am in motes and ticks.
I will be posting at least every couple of days. Like most large group games, if you tend to go a week or more between posts, this is not for you. Players who drop out of contact without warning may have their characters turned into NPCs temporarily or (if the loss of contact is long enough) permanently in order to keep the flow going for those who remain active.
If you're interested, please reply, ideally but not necessarily with the type of Exalt you want to play and a few sentences' worth of character concept. If you have any questions, you can post a reply here, hit me up with a PM, or find me on YIM.
Topic: Gunstar Autochthonia (Exalted AU) (Read 14172 times)