Exalted: Dreams of Exaltation - Possible Exalted Game

[SalmonMax]

Haven't forgotten this, but I'm not quite done yet...

[Krul]

Cool.. I thought I'd go ahead and run an update.. right now, we have

1 Alchemical Starmetal Caste

1 Solar in the works

1 Solar or Lunar in the works

Well, that's enough for a game, but it would be nice if there were at least 2 more.. anyone else interested? Or has the limits that I've placed on the game made folks lose interest?

[Dave ST]

I'll admit, seas of oil, a mechanical world, and crystal mountains all existing within some Primordial's sphincter isn't really all that appealing.

[Krul]

Well, I plan for the game to expand into creation, so it's not all seas of oil and crystal mountains. After all, you are playing the exalted, with the opportunity and potential to change existence.. for better or worse.

On a side note, Dave, that's a very amusing way of putting it.

[Dave ST]

What can I say? I have a gift.

[SalmonMax]

Three players seems reeeeally sparse to me.

Maybe we should hold out for more interest.

[Justin OOC]

I agree

[Charlotte]

I might be into this. I'm going to read up a bit more on Alchemicals first.

[Dave ST]

I have one of two Lunars in the works, deciding which I wanna play.

[Krul]

So, that would be 5 potential players..

Jeremy: 1 Alchemical Starmetal Caste - Strategic Initiative Director

Justin: 1 Solar in the works

SalmonMax: 1 Solar or Lunar in the works

Dave: Presently looking at Lunars

Mike: Still Deciding, both if and what he'd want to play.

That would be better, I'd be willing to run this with a few more, but 5 is an excellent number... though I am willing to take on a few others, should anyone else indicate interest. And don't feel like there's a rush to get your character in. I'm more then willing to help folks with questions and character design, we can take our time setting the game up.

[Charlotte]

All right, after some reading, I think I will be making a Moonsilver "explorer" type. I have never played Exalted before, though, so I'm a bit fuzzy on how the Charms/Combos/Arrays/etc works now (I remember having a semi working knowledge of 1E as far as Solars went.)

The basic idea behind the character is someone who wants to be the First One In throughout her various lifetimes, and her recent Exaltation has geared her towards exploration and stealth. When she wants to be, she looks perfectly normal. When she has to be, out pop the shield baffles and integrated bolters and whatnot. Combat style would be either ranged or martial artistry (maybe both if there's enough overlap.)

What should I be looking at?

[Krul]

Ok, this actually sounds like quite a few questions to me, I'm going to cover them all, my apologies if it seems a little long winded.

To address the MA issue first, Martial Arts is very good, but unlike your regular charms, it costs more, 11 XP.. however, it also doesn't take up but one installation charm (installed permanently) to hold any MA charms you learn, Perfected Lotus Matrix, which requires Perception and Essence of 2. Eventually, at Essence 4, after you've mastered an Celestial MA style, a submodule can be added that reduces the cost of Terrestial Style charms to 6 xp. The only disadvantage this carries, is that PLM is a permanent installation, and can never be removed, with an Installation cost of 2 motes.

Now, to cover Alchemical Charms, to clarify for anyone curious about it, and to make the situation with MA charms more clear. For an Alchemical a new charm costs 6 xp, and a new dedicated slot (which can only hold caste/favored charms) costs 4xp, a general slot(which can hold any charm) costs 6xp. With regards to Alchemicals, with the exception of charms like the Martial Arts and Protocol(the Alchemical Answer to Sorcery) charms, every charm is modular. You start with 8 slots for charms (4 detictated, and 4 general), and a charm for each slot, any extra charms, you hold in storage, and you can visit the vats, and have them easily replace one charm with another. Every charm has an installation charm, that is basically a commitment cost from your personal pool, though stacking charms, like Ox-Bodies or the Armor Charms, usually only have the 1st and/or the second charms requiring a cost, additional installations cost nothing. Submodules are expansions to existing charm that allows you to expand your capabilities without installing a new charm or adding installation costs.

An Array is a combo of a set of charms reduces the cost of the charms in the array, by 1/4 (so 4 charms costing you 4 motes from your personal pool, are reduces to 3 motes), but you have to install them together, every time. On the flip side, you can now spend a point of willpower, and activate all of them together, rather then being limited to only one charm at a time.

What this means, it costs more then just about any other exalt type to add a charm and a slot for it, but it costs less then any other exalt type to just add another charm to your panoply, or to let you install just a charm slot. It also means, Alchemicals are more modular then any other exalt type, but they are limited by charm slots and their personal mote pool, as regards to how many charms they can hold at once.

Martial Arts charms don't follow this template, but they also don't require visits to the vats to learn or install, once you learn them, you have them permanently. The same is true about Protocols, but they require visits to the vats to download them. [There is also a Protocol that allows one to change out your charm set without going back to the vats, with the only limit of requiring clarity of 4]. The Great thing about MA charms, for the Alchemical, is if you make a Combo with them, any array installed is automatically integrated and considered available as part of the combo. This means a Alchemical who learns Martial Arts can hold more charms then one who doesn't, but, because of the XP cost she does so at the price of slower growth and development then other Alchemicals.

If you go the MA route, which I consider a fairly good one, I suggest you learn Crystal Chameleon (it's in Glories of the Most High, Maidens, I can get the style to you if you don't have it), which is all about surprise and movement, using spears(or dire spears)and the rope dart or weight rope (or chain daikliave) as weapons available to this style. Otherwise, Thousand Wounds Gear Style is a good choice for what you were thinking, sense it uses the Gyroscope Chakram as one of the weapons available to this style, and with a 90 range, you can go for both MA and ranged, overlapping as you suggested, it's a really good way to go, especially sense a moonsilver Gyroscope Chakram can shrink to the size of a coin for easy storage.. Although, eventually you should look at both Styles, if your going martial arts.

I also recommended you install a dexterity excellency, sense that will allow you to enhance your MA attacks with the excellency, and if you make it part of an array.. see above.

One more thing, I almost forgot, starting with MA charms costs 6 freebies, starting with another charm in your panoply is only 1 freebie, so your not going to be able to start with many MA charms, but you have plenty of room for growth.

** ** **

Now, the matter of Appearance, a couple of charms can easily cover your desire there. Integrated Stealth Transmogrifier and Husk Shaping Apparatus are what you want, add in Optical Shroud for stealth, and your very stealthy when you want to be. All of them together require a minimun appearance of 3, and a Appearance Excellency installed, more if you want some of the later submoduals. An Alchemical with these charms can be almost (key word almost) as difficult to detect as a Lunar. A Moonsilver has Appearance as Caste, so such charms can be installed in any slot for them.

For Movement and Exploration, Personal Gravity Manipulation Apparatus and the later movement charms are nice. Also, your going to want to look at Dexterity and Stamina for Defenses eventually. In your place, with this goal in mind, I would favor Perception, Stamina and either Strength (Combat Focus) or Manipulation (Spy Focus)

Also, your going to want to look into some of the Dexterity charms for Defense I think.

[Krul]

From what I know at the moment

Jeremy: Strategic Intuitive Director (Starmetal)

Mike: Vanguard of Many Footsteps (Moonsilver)

Long: Seiya of the Shooting Star (Dawn)

Dave: Lunar, presently considering two potentials

SalmonMax: Mei-Ying (Twilight)

There are a few openings for others, if they want to give it a try.

[Krul]

While working on characters with folks, I found some things I was slightly dissatisfied with, so I'm adding a few house rules.

If you can craft artifacts yourself, as a non-Alchemical, you get to use the Alchemical Artifact background, each dot counting as 3, and buying up to 5 with 2 bps.. this means there will be more artifacts then others, or more powerful ones, but I'm ok with that, sense you'll need at least 8-12 dots in crafts to manage it... and Alchemicals don't even need all that.

On a different note, Alchemicals who focus on MA are a bit disadvantaged, I sort of understand why, but.. 6 BP's seems a bit steep to me, and something of a raw deal for the Alchemical Martial Artist.. I'm dropping the cost to 5 BP's per charm, at character gen, for MA. That's the same as a slot and a charm, plus 1, making it slightly less costly.. but not much, still paying extra for the MA charm, but not quite as much, it's not a big discount, but still it's a discount.

Lunar's are going to be somewhat disadvantaged in finding new forms inside Autochithon, though I intend for this game to visit and interact though all parts of existence.. all 6 different areas, it's still somewhat of a disadvantage to them, unless they have certain knacks, sense the only animals within the machine realm are rats and roaches. As such, I'm going to give them 2 dots of Heart's Blood free, so that you be able to start with a few more forms, for free...

Lasting, to encourage character development, for everyone coming up with stories regarding your exalt and their early days as an exalt, as well as backgrounds, will net you a few extra xp (not bps) to start with, somewhere between 2 - 8 XP.. needs to be several paragraphs to count.. a few sentences is not enough.

[Jeremy]

Lessons of the Maker: Drabbles in the early life of Strategic Initiative Director

(This is cleared for public viewing. Thanks to the following for contributing words: Krul, Mike OOC, SalmonMax)

Conflict

Conflict was inevitable, he was told after exiting the vats. That was why the Tripartite Assembly brought him to being. He was intended to excel at conflict. Director knew he would.

Argument

The movements of the formation chosen by Nalkan was considerably similar to Excessively Righteous Blossom's arguments. Aggressive and dangerously inflexible. Surrounding, outflanking and defeating this force would be trivial.

Library

Paging through the tomes gave an odd sensation, a whispering from the past. It spoke of improvement and change and the vision of the library when it was newly formed, a storehouse of secrets meant to be passed on. So this was communion with Noi. Or was it Domadamod?

Despair

The most dangerous emotion for an army to have was despair, as the life of Garius could demonstrate, seeing as he had been the only one to remain strong before Excessively Righteous Blossom was stripped of his command. Director knew the lesson. An army that truly believes it cannot win is but a massive corpse awaiting the deathblow.

Defenses

The junior officer looked askance at his commander's order, but moved to execute it anyway. Director was not worried. His subordinate was too overawed by the protection of the enemy strong point to realize it was held by only a few, and the other side would find the loss in their center fatal indeed.

Adamant

It was a legend, fit only for scaring the many and extorting obedience out of them. Yet Wize Monn had been told to leave Jarish by none other than one such Alchemical if the tattered memories of the incident was right. And the calculations of external incidents did not appear to lie. Yet at this moment, Director could not commit to the truth of the Adamant Caste.

Collective

The 'soldiers' standing before him were a mass of conscripts like a plague of rats, without strength or unity. They would be molded into something stronger.

Horror

The moment of communion with the Great Maker at Director's catalyzing was broken by a mental scream of tainted revulsion, empathetic and yet separately disgusted. Director, for the first and most painful time, faced Autochithon's sickness in its enormity. This cannot be... He thought tortuously. This cannot be stood for...

Vats

The prayer reached its pounding climax, and all the ingredients in the vat formed together and catalyzed. It was a jolt of sensation that caused a mind to form and past lives passing in an immediate, yet somehow drawn out flash. Light poured in as Strategic Initiative Director opened his eyes.

Dignity

Protestations from the subordinates and lectors aside, it was a joy to occasionally lead from the front beside his men.

Hierarchy

It was an irony when he spoke to his officer corps about instilling good, strong obedience in the troops. After all, one of his past lives had rebelled against his commander to stop the continual wasting of lives and morale. But then again, Excessively Righteous Blossom was undoubtedly the exception, not the rule. The Eight Nations couldn't have survived otherwise.

Leadership

Leadership, he determined, was the art of convincing those below you in the ranks that you know what you are doing, regardless of if that assumption was correct or not.

Seduction

The offer was tempting as one of its kind would, but Director brushed the proposed favor away with disdain and told the thrill-seeking woman to go bother Aggressive Steel Heart instead.

Pain

The blow struck him hard on the arm, and the smile disappeared from Director's face behind his metal mask. Aggressive Steel Heart was barely making allowances for the fact that this was a training duel. He paused before lashing out with a sweeping cut to the sternum.

Joy

The cheering of the soldiers filled Director with joy as he watched them celebrate their 10th straight training victory under him. They knew they were in capable hands, and would strive to match his faith in them.

[Krul]

Ok, with 3 characters in, and 2 in the works(tentatively, still have to hear back from Dave as to which he's putting into the hat ).. putting in the request for a game forum to Chosen.

[Matt]

What is the status for this game?

[SalmonMax]

I'd like to keep it going...but it seems like overall interest has faded.

[Krul]

I've been focusing on Quantum Fire a lot lately, but I've also been waiting for Director and Mei to decide what they were going to do about this collussus..

If folks would prefer, I can jump things forward, or do a restart, with experance still applied.

[Justin OOC]

I'm definitely still in for this game, whatever is decided.

[Krul]

I think a restart is in order, with folks in the game up to this point getting to keep all xp gained to now.

[Justin OOC]

Whoo Activity!!

[SalmonMax]

I dunno about a restart...

Maybe just a little...bloop past this one troublesome moment? Starting over from the beginning is kind of intimidating.

[Jeremy]

Well, I'm kinda congested with games...

[Krul]

Well, instead of a full reboot, perhaps a shifting of things, or pushing things forward.. everyone makes it back to loran as the metropolis lauches though the ocean of oil, and they manage to open their mobile submarine like gateway to creation in the inland sea, this would allow the story to shift forward and to bring in other pc's, what's gone before will be the backstory up to now.

Does this sound good to folks?

[SalmonMax]

I'd be fine with returning to Creation, since I'm much more familiar with how it works.

[Justin OOC]

same here.

[Jeremy]

Either way is fine.