EXALTED Reboot - Exalted Modern Logs Posted

[Anna]

Okay, so my last Exalted campaign (see here) was an overwhelming success, I believe, at least in regards to the vast majority of the players enjoying themselves. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, and for almost every one of the players it was their first time playing the setting, and yet most of them did a damn fine job. It was a fun game, despite the way it ended up going.

In truth, even with all its flaws, I and the other players involved enjoyed it so much that the only reason it came to an end at all is because I lost my computer and no longer had regular access to the internet.

This dilemma has finally been solved. And god damnit, I want to play Exalted again. But continuing from where I left things off would be a mistake, so instead I'm starting anew. I'll be taking the old ideas that worked from the first campaign, and mixing them with new ideas. I'll be restraining myself from giving away experience too quickly. I'll be working hard to make things both challenging and exciting. And I'll not make the mistake of thinking I can reasonably run an RPG with 12+ goddamn players.

The result of these changes will ultimately mean it will be more fun. Anyone's free to join up. As of this moment, there are between 6 and 8 open slots. People who were involved in the previous session will be given preference, but I'd be surprised if more that 3 or 4 people from the original campaign return. Many of them have disappeared since.

So, if you want to know what Exalted is, check out this thread. If you're interested in joining, make a post here expressing your interest, and hang around #Exalted on irc.rizon.net

Rulebooks will be provided to those who need them (I imagine that will be most).

Now I sit back and hope starting this thread wasn't a complete waste of time.

-------------------------------

Character types I will allow: Solars, Lunars and Dragon-Blooded
Character types I may allow: Abyssals, if you can make one that the rest of the group would tolerate and not kill instantly. Heroic Humans (Including demi-gods and other creatures included in the Scroll of Heroes). Ghosts.
Character types that are absolutely out of the question: Sidereals, Infernals, Fair-Folk.

Check out the Wiki, if you're interested, lemme know, leave a post here, and maybe give me an idea of what kind of character interests you.

--------------------------------

House Rules
Pretty much everything listed here is true and valid, with the exception of the change to the Twilight anima banner effect: http://alopex.li/wiki/Exalted/Notes

Other house rules as of this moment: Nothing.

Players and Characters:

- Zhochen Ansol, The Voice Of Infinite Reason, Eclipse Caste Solar - Played by Aralonia

- Lionel Dekyn, Twilight Caste Solar - Played by Cynsye

- Erin Marias, Full-Moon Caste Lunar - Played by Arcalane

- Reyna Malach, Full-Moon Caste Lunar- Played by Swamp Fox

- Aureus Síla, Twilight Caste Solar - Played by Chiiro

- Melua Maia Mala, Night Caste Solar - Played by Muug

- Mirage, Changing-Moon Caste Lunar - Played by Icefox

- Cathak Xia He, Ember Scorched Lotus, Fire Aspect Dragon-Blooded - Played by Lizzie


Important NPCs:

- The Gentleman With Midnight Eyes And One Thousand Fangs, Deathlord - NPC - Pic

- Forbidden Singer of Thirteen Downfalls, Moonshadow Caste Abyssal - NPC - Pic - Dead

- Seventh Scholar of the Sun, Daybreak Caste Abyssal - NPC - Pic - Dead

- Lord of the Silver Tomb, Dusk Caste Abyssal - NPC - Pic - Dead

- Cathak Da-xia, Xia He's sister, Zenith Caste Solar - Ally/Ward NPC - Pic

- Strix Rider, Malefactor Caste Infernal - NPC

- Mara, the Shadow-Lover, the Defining Soul of That Which Calls to the Shadows, Second Circle Demon - NPC

Banned from Participation:

- Surprisingly, no-one.

Session Logs:

• Session 0.5a
• Session 0.5b
• Session 1
• Session 2
• Sessions 2.5a and 2.5b
• Session 3
• Session 3.5a
• Session 3.5b
• Session 4
• Session 5
  -
• Modern Session 1
• Modern Session 2
• Modern Session 3
• Modern Session 4

(Note to self: Update the PC and NPC character lists at some point)

[Lizzie]

I wish to reserve a spot for myself since I was a player last time and would like to do so again. Undecided if I'm using my old character or a new one.

[Aralonia]

Name: Arnold Lars Willfort
Concept: *rips shirt off and flexes while sparkling*
Caste: Zenith
Awesome: Yes

[Arcalane]

I'll probably be down for this, will post moar later.

Ed: It'll probably be Erin.

PS there better be some of those little sausages on cocktail sticks.

____________________

Spoiler!

A cold winter's night. An important time for many, and this one is of particular importance to a 6'1" silver-haired, headstrong village girl out hunting deer for her elder's feast.

Unfortunately, the village is (relatively) close to the Wyld. Whilst it itself is safe, it's hunters are much less so as they travel towards the edge. And so it was that Erin Marias found herself fleeing from a mutant creature from the Wyld, uninjured but terrified to say the least. During the chase, she stumbled into a small clearing, illuminated by the moon as is the way of Fate and Destiny.

As she knelt to drink from a stream passing through the clearing, she was approached by Luna, and Exalted. Told of a greater purpose and armed with only her wits and will to survive, Erin took some time to piece things together. This delicate mental process would be rudely interrupted, however, as the mutant crashed into the clearing. For Erin, the fight lasted as long as a blink. When she came to, she found herself in her Warform, with the mutant torn to pieces at her feet, and an odd sensation growing.

It manifested as a smirk, then a chuckle, then grew to a deep laughter that startled birds and animal alike. In a mad rush of power, she practically rampaged through the forest, and several tribal villages observed this, believing her to be some kind of god - no mutant would be so imposing, yet so unblemished. The Wyld left it's traces on those it deformed, and there were none of those here. To the superstitious villagers, this was clearly a sign. Some worshipped her as a being of war, others of hunting. Some feared her, others respected her. After finding out about this cult, Erin went some way to cultivate it, appearing to the villages from time to time, particularly when they made great offerings. A small cult is a beneficial thing for any Exalted to have, after all, and the relative isolation of the tribes and nature made it relatively safe from the Wyld Hunt.

Some time later, she was picked up by the Pact, and willingly went with them. Having spent much of her life threatened by the all too occasional Wyld-spawned mutants, she understood the dangers all too well, and was more than willing to accept the moonsilver tattoos. As fitting her heritage and role before, she joined the Full Moon caste. It was there that she would become a truly fearsome warrior, though her elders believed her short temper, hot-headedness and refusal to back down in many situations to be detrimental.

In any case, she spent several years training with her peers, never backing down from a challenge, and excelling in her chosen areas of expertise - taking and dishing out pain, and mastering the use of her warform. Wanderlust, however, soon grew too great for her to contain. Gathering some equipment, resources and artifacts given to her by generous members higher in the caste, she set forth. Or more precisely, south.

But now, it was time to see what Luna meant by that greater purpose...

Spoiler!

Erin usually wears a heavy brown cloak that hides her lamellar armour and helps physically hide her Tell from sight, though only the sharpest-minded of mortals could hope to have a chance of seeing through it, even in her true form.

The Tell acts as an attack with 12 successes on the roll, automatically slipping into the blind spot (or the equivalent for other senses) of any target with a Dodge Mental Defense Value of 11 or less. The Tell is most important in false human and animal forms—in any true form, the Lunar is not concealing his identity.

In a true form, the Lunar’s Tell is only half as effective: Double observers’ effective Mental Defense Values before any other modifications. Someone who has seen the Tell before more easily sees it again, increasing their Dodge Mental Defense Value by two. People on the lookout for shapeshifters increase their effective Mental Defense Value by one; those specifically looking for Lunar Exalted increase it by two. If the Lunar desires, he can consciously choose to make the Tell completely evident when in a true form. The Tell is, of course, completely irrelevant to a Lunar’s hybrid war form: The animal characteristics are all openly displayed. However, someone who sees a Lunar’s war form might then guess what to look for in his other forms.

For most purposes, the Tell is nearly inviolate. No mortal can see through the disguise at its best, and only the most clear-minded notice Tells even when faced with a Lunar in human true form. Gods and Exalted are more likely to notice the Tell, especially once Excellencies enter play. If a Tell fails to conceal itself with its magic, it draws attention to itself. Such is the nature of the Tell. The Tell becomes increasingly prominent as a Lunar Exalt expends Peripheral Essence, manifesting along with her caste mark and anima banner.

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MODIFIERS TO SPOTTING THE TELL
Observer . . .                    | MDV gains . . .
...is observing a false form      | +0
...is observing a true form       | x2*
...is looking for shapeshifters   | +1**
...is looking for Lunars          | +2**
...knows what the Lunar’s Tell is | +2
* Apply this modifier first.
** These modifiers do not stack with each other.

The cloak has a hood that can be drawn up or down, though it is usually worn down. Her Dire Lance worn across her back, wrapped in cloth to hide it's nature, looking to the casual observer as nothing more than a cloth-wrapped stick. She carries a weathered but very sturdy, steel-reinforced "walking stick" and her straight sword is always hidden at her side.

Erin's light blue eyes tend to shift towards silver/grey whenever she uses motes from either of her essence pools (disregarding committed essence for artifacts) for unknown reasons. Her silver-grey hair is kept relatively short and tied back to keep it out of the way.

Her armour itself shimmers faintly under moonlight, an effect of the moonsilver it is alloyed with, but otherwise looks like fairly mundane shiny steel lamellar armour, consisting of several pieces to protect her chest, arms and legs. It's unusual properties stem from the moonsilver it is alloyed with, however, and it offers superb protection whilst weighing practically nothing. It can also actually expand in size to protect Erin's warform - and any of her other forms for that matter - when she shifts into it, apparently drawing extra segments from Elsewhere and increasing the size of the segments to ensure that the overall protection is not compromised. The entire suit offers considerable protection, capable of significantly reducing damage all by itself, and that's even before one takes into account Erin's own Essence-augmented resilience and her charms, such as Armour-Forming Technique.

Additionally, each segment is inscribed with various Lunar-related symbols, imagery and runes. The entire collection recalls a series of short stories from the later First Age and Usurpation, readable to any versed in Claw-Speak, though the nature of the segment storage and sizing can make the recollections somewhat broken, occasionally lacking in important details, or often jumbled up with one another. The maker and age of the armour remains unknown, but it is suggested by some to have been an artifact from the armoury of her First Age incarnation.

Moving on! Though it has not yet been seen by anyone since she left the Pact, Erin has continued to hone and refine her warform. She believes that it has recently reached a significant stage in it's development, a path which has been spurred on by the recent reawakening of old memories. Memories of the First Age, in fact.

As a result, her warform is far from the animalistic terror it was before. Now, it is just a touch over seven and a half feet tall, and if fully armoured via Armour-Forming Technique - which it always is - it could barely pass for a human in very exotic powered armour, possibly a First Age design. The main refinement in this version is two simple gliding surface wings and two sets needle-like fins on the back, which normally retract in and fold down respectively. When activated, a brilliant "web" of silver essence fills the gap between the fins. By feeding off ambient essence flows (or direct essence injection by Erin) and channelling them into a directed stream, these arrays grant Erin an innate form of flight that she is now somewhat comfortable with using, but she has not had a great deal of practice with it. Whilst this method of propulsion is far from subtle, it is fast, allowing her to travel at twice her running speed in straight flight, ascend at normal running speed, or dive at a full ten times her running speed without additional essence boosting. If - for some reason - the arrays should fail or are unusable, she can still use the wings to glide to a certain extent.

Erin cannot truly explain what spurred her to take this highly unconventional route, using the knack known as Perfected Hybrid Interaction (which many Lunars regard as a step on the road to chimerism) but she feels it may be a sort of guidance, from the flashes of the First Age that appear in her dreams.

Under the armour, her warform is still a hybrid of human and animal, but less savage than before, now a more refined and somewhat more graceful creature.

Armour-Forming Technique Notes: Unlike most users of this charm, Erin's body does not develop bony, chitinous plates. Instead, she seems to summon forth additional moonsilver-ish armour from Elsewhere. These silver armour plates slide out from under her own armour with an array of mechanical sounds, gradually covering her whole body. With only one invocation, the plates are fairly thin and lacking in detail, but as additional essence is committed, the armour grows not only in thickness of it's own volition but also in detail, with elegant flowing engravings and detailing becoming visible, none of which compromise the armour's protection. They fit her warform as well as they fit her spirit or true forms.

This armour also provides a full helmet, which obscures almost everything, leaving only a narrow eyeslit.

~~

Stats:

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PHYSICAL - Primary
*STR: ••••
*DEX: ••••
*STA: ••••

Warform: +1 DEX

SOCIAL - Tertiary
CHA: ••
MNP: ••
APP: •••

MENTAL - Secondary
PER: •••
INT: •••
*WIT: ••••

~~

Abilities:

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WAR
Archery: ••••
Athletics: •••
Awareness: ••••
Dodge: ••••
Integrity: •••
Martial Arts: •
*Melee: •••••
Resistance: •••
Thrown: -
War: -

LIFE
Larceny: -
Linguistics: • (Riverspeak)
Performance: -
Presence: ••
Ride: -
Sail: -
Socialize: -
Stealth: ••
*Survival: ••

WISDOM
Bureaucracy: -
Investigation: -
Lore: ••
Medicine: -
Occult -

~~

Other Stuff:

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VIRTUES:
Compassion: •
Temperance: ••
Conviction: ••••
-----Valor: ••••

WILLPOWER: ••••••••

ESSENCE: •••
Personal Pool: 19/19
Peripheral Pool: 44/44

MERITS:
Pain Tolerance I; No wound penalties until -2, +1 difficulty to Touch-based Perception checks.
Past Lives II; +1d to all First Age [i]Technology[/i] rolls only. Flashbacks are still short, but not enough to strongly recall and grasp aspects of day to day life like society, customs or history.

Spoiler!

Erin's Mental Notes
Session Notes
Session Five:
Where to start, where to start... eh, later maybe. Right now we need to wait for Lionel to recharge, Aureus needs time to recover from being shanked in the side, and Singer and Melua are nowhere to be seen. We need to regroup first, then follow up on some of the leads Ember and Florivet may have shed some light on...

Session Ten?:
Too much to sum up here. Shit went to hell in a handbasket and a city got levelled. Though it was full of demons. And undead. Goddamn Creation is a mess. Guess we need to wrap things up here, set a course for whereverthehellistan, and then sit everyone down for a little chat once we're underway. Lots of questions need answering...

Session Eleven?:
So we spent the last week or so rebuilding Elysium, getting a crew together, and a few more days flying out towards Juatra in our new ride. Oh, and some arrogant bint called Whispers showed up asking to come with us. Spoke of some axe-wielding bitch-- ~That must be Morrighan~ ...whah? ~Yes, hello. I'm you. You're me. First Age. Can't... uhhn... must... rest now...~ ...ooookay. I'm either going insane or that... voice is myself from the First Age. I've heard stories about personalities reasserting themselves... whispers of "Desus" and "Lilith" when I was with the Pact... I hope I don't end up like that if what they were saying was true. Anyway! Juatra! Should be fun.

Party Members
Arnold Lars Willfort; ?
I: Punched a bigass (soulsteel?) door in half. Not bad. Not very smart though. Still, seems to be relatively tough. Not like most of these pansyass Solars. Point him at some bad guys and stand well back.
III: Got recalled by Cap'n Sharkteeth for some other mission.

Lionel Dekyn; •••
I: Medic and healer guy. Also a bit of an archer, I think. Not a huge amount of use to me - but the others'll probably need his aid. I guess I might if things go truly pear-shaped. Decent kinda guy, probably the oldest of us.
III: Saw him pull some fancy healing tricks on Singer when she got mauled. Animate snake as part of his anima... unusual but I think I recall some kind of association between healers and snakes. Singer was up and about in a matter of moments. Not half bad.
IV: This guy has some fancy tricks. Turns out Seven tried to drug our breakfast... then Lio whipped up a cure for everyone in a couple of seconds. Maybe these Solars aren't so useless after all...
V: Insert commentary on Lionel's usefulness.
X?: Has consistently helped us, and is certainly pulling his weight.

Morrighan Liyamark; ?
I: Quiet and grumpy. Occasionally prone to daft remarks. Looks like a decently heavy hitter, but I dunno if she can take many hits in return. Worrying? Possibly.
III: Recalled for A Mission, apparently, along with Arnold. That puts us down two of our combatants. Godsbedamned useless Solars!

Reyn Malach; ••
I: Another Full Moon. Even quieter than Morri. Spends a lot of time in her spirit/animal forms, slightly worrying? Still, not as bad as that one batshit crazy bird lady I ran into back when I was doing my training.
III: Possibly the oddest Full Moon I've met. I know some take up the path of assassinations, but... she has a fancy weapon and thinks combat is wasteful? I'm not a fighter for fighting's sake, but it's sounding more and more like I'm surrounded by cowards. Entire circle is babies! Ugh.
IV: Has taken to hibernating?
V: Woke up, showed up late, dithered around whilst we had a chat with Seven and Tombs.
VII: Maybe she's not such a pansy after all. Hmf. We'll see.
X?: Words cannot sum up how badly I want to wring this woman's neck. But if I did that I might end up killing her. Gods damn it all...

Aureus Síla; •
I: The epitome of 'Squishy Solar'. Looks way too young for this shit. Scholarly type, so I'd bet five dinars he's a Sorceror of some description - Exaltation doesn't come to any randomass bookworm that's for certain... and definitely not one like this guy. Figure he'll probably run off at the first sign of danger though, and he'd probably fall over unconcious if I poked him too hard.
III: I think he tried some fancy trick on the lion that didn't really work, so that cements his status as a sorceror if you ask me. Showed up to the inn carrying Melua and looking for Lionel. Don't want to know.
IV: Looking far too cheerful for his own good earlier. Don't trust him... well, not that I did before.
V: Showed up at the inn covered in blood (his) and holding a handful of sand (not his). Supposedly splattered one of Cecelyne's goons. Possibly the same one that attacked Seven.

Melua Maia Mala; •
I: Pretty sure she's a Night Caste, though she hasn't been open about it. If she is... good team asset. If not, what is she? Good question.
III: Has never heard of tropical freshwater fish - specifically the piranha. In hindsight, should have clarified the freshwater part. Attraction to certain males may prove... troublesome.
IV: Disturbing obsession with magitech... reminds me of... of... something? Some... familiar feeling in the back of my mind... I don't know. It's... eh, it's probably nothing.
V: Wandered off with Singer at one point to some end. Not sure what happened there.
VII: Good at disguises. Very good at disguises.
X?: Seems to have had a direct hand in shutting down the Beast's offensive, even if she could only take out one of the cannons.
XI: Apparently has direct (and only) control over Sapphire, the AI she used to shut down the Beast's offensive.

Mirage; •
I: Changing Moon. Haven't seen one of those for a good while. Quick and a charmer, but I'm not sure if he's to be trusted fully. Strange...
III: I'm cute. Apparently. Should I be flattered? I think I should. Still can't trust him yet.
IV: Suggested we run away instead of doing our job here. We have to stop Seven somehow. I don't know much about Behemoths (Mirage, on the other hand...) but it reeks to me of catastrophe in the making if he does it with anything less than an AI. Finding one is probably not going to happen. Talking Seven out of it, also probably not going to happen. Hmph.
V: Moves in some very interesting circles! Has a demon-friend called Florivet, or something like that.
V-i: Now that I think about it, he's kinda cute, too. AUGH! Pay attention!
VII: Not sure if he's trying to impress me or what, attacking the demon like that. Good effort, bad results.
X?: Lucky son of a bitch.
XI: ... ._.

Zhochen Ansol: ?
IV: Liable to end up as a replacement for the two we lost, I think. He seems a bit... I don't know... there's something not right there though.
V: ...I'm starting to think this guy is not right in the head. He wandered off after we helped Seven up, came back babbling about noodles. Completely loopy.
X?: Actually managed to hit something with his sword! He might be crazy, but he has some guts at least.

Ember Scorched Lotus; •?
IV: Dragonbloods. Ugh. Has all the signs of a Fire Aspect too. Maybe she's not so bad though. Her little sister is a Zenith, and she didn't try to hand her over to the Immaculates... still, don't trust her. Not at all. Will probably end up singing my fucking Tell too. Rrrrr.
V: Turns out she did quite a bit of investigation on the city here before we arrived, and along with some terribly unsubtle hints from Mirage's demon friend, we might have some leads to follow up, namely the so-called temples to the Unconquered Sun.
VII: Not a bad shot. Not bad at all.
X?: Bluh.

NPCs

Forbidden Singer of Thirteen Downfalls; Odd one, for an Abyssal. Don't know enough about her yet. Maybe they're not all bad? Pfeh.
III: Came into our inn looking beat up as all hell. Has been recovering - slowly. Whatever it was she ran into put a real hurting on her. And then the lion-thing nearly tore her guts out. Fantastic.
X?: Figures she'd wind up caught in the crossfire.

Seventh Scholar of the Sun; Stab. Staaab. Stabstabstab. STAAAAAAAAB. *ahem*. Yes. Other than that (thank you for reminding me, brain. not.) this guy is probably way in over his head. Once a Solar, always a Solar, apparently... at least in terms of ambition. I don't think he comprehends what will happen if this thing does get out of control, and his overconfidence is bound to ensure that it will get out of control... stabstabstabstab SHUTUP
V: After nearly getting himself killed, Lionel hauled him up and then we convinced him to spend his time poring over the Beast to check for sabotage rather than trying to rush it to completion in a potentially damaged state. That should buy us enough time to check into the cults.
X?: Something that looked like it was Seven wasn't Seven, and then we killed it. If he was replaced, I guess the original was already dead. Shame.

Lord of the Silver Tomb; Haven't seen much (if anything, I don't know? we weren't introduced I don't think, he could have been lurking somewhere) this guy since we arrived. He sounds like the muscle of the operation, which makes Seven the brains. Unlike Seven, I imagine he's not a total pushover. Almost certainly very dangerous. Wait, only almost? Scratch that.
V: Small vocabulary, big axe. Very serious. Heavy armour too.
X?: Servant of a demon or something. Dead now. Ember killed him after I wore him down.

Da-xia; The Dr-- I mean, Ember's little sister. Possibly one of the youngest Zeniths I've ever seen. What is it with this circle and attracting young Solars? Doubt she can handle herself in a fight but I'll bet she can probably wriggle herself out of most trouble.

Florivet: Seems like a pretty decent guy, for a demon with a wolf's head for... well, a head, and god knows what else. I wasn't exactly paying attention. Anyway, seems plenty of people have an interest in us. Great. Oh, and there's about two or three different Yozi meddling with this city's affairs, each to their own ends. Goddamn lunatics.

Other Stuff
Still collecting my thoughts.

Training; Working on other skills. The others are... I can't afford to push too far ahead in my martial training right now. My mentor taught me to focus on working with others, even though I feel better fighting alone. Maybe the old man was right about something for once.

Mind you, he was right about a lot of things. Warform refinements coming along nicely, thanks to the cargo bays. Lots of room to, ah... stretch my wings. Heheh. Quarters are good for relaxing and reviewing things... memories to map out and write down. Fascinating stuff... so many hints of First Age technology lurking just out of the reach of my memories and dreams.

Equipment; Everything seems good for now, I think...

~~

Spoiler!

Miscellania
First Age Matters
Ah, the First Age. A time of wonders, madness, and so much more. Erin's Solar Mate was a Twilight - an artificer, to be precise. His heavily-fortified (paranoia, alas, was one of his greatest flaws; the only person he ever really trusted was Erin) Manse served as his hideout and refuge during the Usurpation. Subtle, it was not, but then it didn't need to be. Many of the Dragonblooded sent to kill the pair were systematically eliminated by the Manse's myriad and incredibly deadly defenses, necessitating Sidereal intervention in some cases. The remainder of that force - now weary and somewhat wounded - had to tend with one well-prepared Lunar. Things did not go so well.

Unfortunately, reinforcements diverted from other, more successful Usurpation endeavours threatened to end things rather quickly. The Twilight took to the field in Celestial Battle Armour, backed up by his own reinforcements in the form of various combat-fitted automata. The battle raged for longer than the Sidereals had hoped, and it looked like the two may have come out on top if not for quick thinking from some of the Dragonblooded. Eventually, the two were defeated, but not before the Twilight could unleash a last-minute surprise with his final words; the majority of the Manse's defenses were self-repairing, and almost fully restored. That was the least of the Terrestrial's concerns however...

To add insult to injury, the Manse's final defensive system unceremoniously dropped it into an underground cavern and formed a perfectly natural looking roof over the site as if the Manse had never been there. Those that survived that were faced with finding a way out of a very dangerous installation. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most of them didn't make it out, even with the defenses at less-than-optimal performance. Those that did were eventually dug out, but the results were not pretty. The Manse's location was struck from the records - a bloody and ill-fated endeavour that laid waste to far too many of the Dragonblooded's forces for them to admit to. It is unlikely that any besides a few elder Sidereals even know of the Manse's location... and even if they did, the final words of the dying Twilight and the bloodbath of the trap-lined corridors has dissuaded them from trying to claim it.

Rumour has it that the Manse returns to the surface once every few decades, trying to call it's owners back before sinking back into the ground and hiding once more. But that's probably a load of old hat made up by some crazy hermit who knows too much for his own good, so who knows?

Manse Notes:
• Nobody in the circle, especially Erin, is currently aware of the Manse's existance. Period. The rumours of reappearance are somewhat true, though.
•• There are plans that I need to work out with Anna first. Whether or not these plans happen is another kettle of fish entirely.
• No, you may not take the Twilight's Celestial Badass Armour. It is no doubt damaged beyond repair, self-repair enchantments or no.
•• If it does by some miracle work, anyone who tries to attune to it is liable to get smacked through a wall or three. Have some respect for the dead, would you?
• Assuming entry to the Manse is still possible it is highly likely that the defensive systems are still operational.
•• Even if the defensive systems are only operating at a fraction of their capabilities... getting to the 'core' will not be easy.
••• No, the defenses are not planned out yet. I don't trust myself not to work in intentional bypasses or to make things to excessive.

Current Age Politics
Though originally subject to the same 'brainwashing' that many new Lunars are subjected to by the Seneschals of the Sun Kings, fleeting memories and tales of Solar madness and neglect 'tainted' her view of the Seneschals - weaklings who relied far too much upon the then-crazed and uncaring Solars. Fortunately, whisper of her Exaltation had reached members of the Swords of Luna - she was given priority over others (though she still had to venture into the Wyld and kill something bigger than her) due to her early mastery of her Warform.

She had not the time or patience for guarding the borders of Creation though - the elders moved too slowly for her short temper. Erin instead turned her skill for battle towards matters of internal security... and she had decided that the biggest threat was the Realm. Specifically the Dragonblooded. Another fleeting memory - of the last of her words - reminded her of an age-old promise... no, threat, that was long overdue. The Terrestrials had earnt her ire on the day of the Usurpation, and though she killed most of those there before being brought down, those that survived surely had Dragon-Exalted descendents today... time to finish matters.

Whilst technically a member of the Swords, the divide between Erin and the Pact has meant she has somewhat reconsidered her place in things, and thus stands more as a neutral than anything else.

~~

Spoiler!

Artifacts
Moonsilver Dire Lance - Skysplitter
Speed: 5
Accuracy: +4 (Humanform To-Hit: 16, Warform To-Hit: 17)
Damage: +8L (Humanform Total: 12L, Warform Total: 12L)
Defense: +4 (Humanform Parry: 8, Warform Parry: 9)
Rate: 2
Tags: 2 (Two-Handed), L (Lance Type; +4L when Charging, or Braced against a Charging opponent), R (Can attack mounted targets; ignores elevation penalties)
With a haft almost seven feet long topped by a roughly one and a half foot long spearhead, Erin's Dire Lance is undeniably Moonsilver. The main body of the weapon is decorated with flowing, seemingly meaningless patterns, whilst the head is simple, bearing little in the way of engravings beyond the weapon's name in Old Realm. The entire weapon moves with terrifying speed despite it's size, and can catch many off-guard, flowing like the material it is made of in order to defend or attack. The bladed point can be used for slashing sweeps or piercing thrusts, making it a highly versatile weapon.

Additionally, the weapon can be folded down to increase it's portability and concealability. When wrapped in cloth, the entire bundle is not much longer than Erin's arm. When called upon, the weapon seems to instinctively shed it's cloth and almost flow into Erin's grip. It rarely seems to 'ready' itself the same way every time - sometimes it might fold out of it's own accord, other times it might seem to reconfigure itself like liquid metal... who can be sure what it'll do next?

Skysplitter was a gift from one of her peers amongst the Swords of Luna, who was thoroughly impressed by her early mastery of her Warform and martial prowess in slaying the beast that attacked her.

Moonsilver Lamellar - ???
Soak: 8L/9B/8A
Hardness: 5L/5B
Fatigue Rating: 0
Mobility Penalty: 0
Concealable?: Yes - Heavy clothing
As mentioned before, Erin's armour is mistakeable for (very shiny) steel lamellar unless closely inspected. On closer inspection, patterns upon each segment reveal a short phrase - part of a larger story, or multiple stories - written in Clawspeak. Unfortunately, due to the armour's nature, the plates are somewhat jumbled up, and without all of the pieces present in Creation (parts of the suit are stored Elsewhere) it is essentially impossible to read the entire thing.

Rumour amongst the Pact has it that this otherwise unremarkable suit of armour belonged to her First Age incarnation, and it was one of her most treasured possessions at the time, despite it's simplicity; First Age artifacts are rarely designed to do only one thing. Whatever the case, the armour has certainly seen plenty of wear over the years and has served it's owners in the meantime quite well. It was given to her by her mentor in the Pact shortly before Erin left to sate her wanderlust.

[Swamp Fox]

I'm in if it happens.

[Chiiro]

ohgodohgodohgodsignmeupohgod

[Anna]

Okay, so pretty much all the people I expected to return did, plus a few bonus. So... we have about two free spots open. Anyone else care to join? It doesn't matter if you've never played Exalted before. We can TEACH you. And it's fun!

[Arcalane]

*stuff*

Well at least it's not the giant ant again. :I

[Impwarior]

i will join.
[size=0]never played this before but meh[/size]
if anyone else wants the space though, let them take it

[Cynsye]

I wouldn't mind joining in. Always nice to learn a new RPG system.

I had a quick look at the rules a while back when I was at a friends house, so I have a very vague idea how it works.. but nothing in practice.

_____________

Lionel originally came from a small town on in the far east of the Threshold, in the area of the city of Nechara, where he trained under the local healer, and learned much about herbal medicine.

However, with the passing of his mentor, it fell to him to tend to the care of the townspeople. However a disease soon ravaged the town which was beyond his abilities to treat. With the entire population dead or dying, he had to make a choice which still haunts him to this day: to leave and survive or to stay and die. Leaving his fiancé, parents, siblings and friends as well as the rest of the community, he picked up his brother Raymond, the only other immune person, just a child at this time, and ran as far as he could in an attempt to forget.

Time passed, and with each town and city he visited he improved his abilities in medicine with the local skills, keeping extensive journals of his discoveries, now extremely detailed, containing recipes and treatments for the vast majority of common illnesses and poisons, with a fair few rare ones beside.

In his travels Lionel happened upon an abandoned manse dedicated to the element of wood whilst searching for inspiration for a compound to help treat a local plague, strangely similar to the one which wiped his home town off the map. It is here, bathed in the sunlight piercing the trees above, that he underwent a great revelation upon how to treat the locals and found to his surprise that he could heal with a mere touch. This happiness however quickly passed, as the mark of the twilight caste began burning upon his forhead, and even as moments before he had been praised as a hero for curing the villagers, he was suddenly vilified as a demon, and chased out by sword and stone. Since this day he has wandered from place to place, helping where he can and hiding his abilities as much as possible, struggling to come to terms with his exaltation, forever wary of the Immaculate Order. He has encountered a number of Dragon-blooded since then, and even treated one without arousing suspicion, and generally got along well with them.. when they didn't look down on him.

Lionel still strives for more information, and has been searching for quite some time for an alchemist to teach him that art, though finding one who can be relied on to remain discreet about him is proving difficult even in the threshold.

Lionel is still haunted by his past failures and shortcomings, and time has done little to dull this pain. However, he has learned to hide the majority of his feelings, and projects a façade of calm most of the time. However he can be a little unstable when subjected to pressure, ranging from depression to outright rage, and as such tends to avoid confrontation wherever possible.

Innocuous (-2)
Is oath-bound to not personally start a fight (+1).
Suffers from nightmares flaw (Those that he has failed haunt dreams) (+2).

5' 11" and of medium build. 38yrs of age (Looks around 35)
Light-tan coloured skin, blue eyes, reasonably good looking, however generally has dark bags under his eyes. Close clipped brown hair. Generally "average" in almost every way however.
Wears a plain, off-white linen shirt with a high collar, a thigh length very-dark-blue leather jacket lined with soft fur, black leather trousers and a wide belt with many pouches attached to it, containing a variety of herbs and compounds, and a few medical journals. The sleeves of his shirt are tied close around his wrist to hide his hearthstone bracers, and it is cut in such a way to disguise that there is chain-mail underneath. Has a grey half-cloak with a hood normally, with faint aperiodic patterning around the edges, and a thicker, woollen cloak for cold/wet weather. Tends to wear light brown coloured soft leather gloves. All of his clothing is well made, and expensive.. if somewhat understated, though most people don't look close enough to see this. Most of his clothes were a present the last time he met his brother, and as such, he keeps them well maintained.
Anima mainfests as a snake, which is gold with shifting blue and green streaks. It coils around Lionel, with its head just slightly to the right of his. Closer inspection shows that it is made up of swirling motes of light. It actively moves when Lionel uses charms, and when he uses his Anima it moves to intercept and slow blows against him.

Raymond Dekyn.
6' 1" and of thin build. 29yrs of age. Looks very similar to Lionel, though has hair down to his shoulders, typically tied behind his neck, and a faint scar running along his jaw.
Guild factor. Lionel set Raymond up in the Guild 16 years ago as an alternative to a life wandering creation. It was Raymond who managed to obtain the artifacts that Lionel now wears, and the two keep in touch whenever possible, Alhough Lionel understands that too great an association with Raymond may cause him trouble, Raymond seems not to notice this, or more likely he does, but doesn't show it.

Raymond, upon joining the Guild enjoyed a quick rise in power and influence, showing ruthlessness and superb people management skills and now acts as a negotiator and distribution facilitator, normally based in Nexus, though he tends to travel a considerable amount. He is capable of obtaining a large variety of items, though explaining why he needs them can be difficult. Has caused ripples of discontent in some areas, but has generally been able to talk his way into their trust.

[Anna]

Alrighty, well if you can join #Exalted on the Rizon IRC network, we can sort things out and see about getting you familiarised with the system.

[Anna]

Wewt. Alright, things appear to be progressing very nicely indeed. God a fair few characters lined up here. Excellent.

[Lizzie]

Morrighan Liyamark.



Her weapon.

I wake up suddenly and with a sharp headache ... more then just that, my entire body aches, like I was run over by a horse, but especially my head. I attempt to move but find my hands and feet bound in rope, and a gag around my mouth. As I look around the room I observe it is a small inn room perhaps, dimly lit by the barely open curtains. It looks to be afternoon. I don't remember a damn thing about how I got here, must've been hit pretty hard.

Due to my gag I cannot call for help, I continue to look around towards the door only to hear the familiar click of the knob turning. Someone was entering, perhaps my captor. A tall woman stepped inside, metal boots thumping on the floor with each step ... I recognize this woman, Morrighan Liyamark. She commanded a unit in my mercenary company, at least until she decided to quit. I don't take well to quitters, especially in times of crisis. It's bad for business, and for your reputation. So I had her dealt with, but death couldn't hold her. This woman ... she rose from the camp's corpse pile as something inhuman, and slaughtered her way out and to freedom. A year ago. Why has she returned ... wait that's obvious. Revenge. But why has she returned now?

She's staring at me, does she not want to kill me? If she's going to, couldn't she at least be quick about it?

"Oi." Oh, now she speaks. "Remember me, captain? I remember you. I remember it was your order that got me shot in the back ... I remember a lot of things. It's not for killing me that you're here."

That came as somewhat of a surprise. "You owe me for something much worse." What IS she talking about? I don't rememb- ... oh wait. "Heh, that dawning of realization shows on your face. Tell me captain, do you have nightmares? I do." She paused. "Every god damn night I wake up in that ditch with my hands around that little girl's throat, wondering how the hell I ended up there." She mimicked the action, her thumbs pressed out into the air and her knuckles white as she tensed her hands around an invisible neck. "Wondering what that burning smell is, whose blood is in my hair, in my eyes, in my mouth. Whose cold body is under me. Who all those faces are, in the ditch with me, tangled up and beginning to bloat."

She stands up, propping her chin up with her hand as she faces away from me towards the window, deep in thought, I can do nothing but listen for now. "I had to think for a while. Now I know why you let us take the town. We'd led the charge earlier that day, right into those pike blocks. Even though we won, half of us were shish kabob. I know why you sent us in to vent our rage, to let us get even for the men we'd lost." She stopped. "And when we woke up to what we'd done, that slaughter made us bound to you again, by the guilt of it. The lost, they were good people, not just soldiers who deserved a better death. They didn't deserve to be commemorated with the massacre of old men, women, and children." She whirled to face me, jabbing a finger in my face. "But you weren't interested in honoring their deaths, or even the profit you'd make rifling through the houses we'd just 'emptied'. You just wanted to make sure we were still yours, after we'd been broken that day." Her eyes narrowed, and what had been a flashing gaze was now like damped charcoals, smouldering slits in her pretty face. "I just wanted to walk, to throw away the axe and take off the armor, and never see that hell or your ugly grin again, but you couldn't let me. If their commander walked, all the rest of the soldiers in my unit would too, after all. So you had me shot down to teach them a lesson. It didn't matter if I was there or not, what's one more soldier more or less? But the entire unit... you couldn't let them go, no. You wouldn't let them get away from that hell you put them through. That is why you will die here."

---

• Merits:
  . Common sense, 1 point.
  
  . Danger sense, 3 points.
  
  . Lucky, 3 point.
  
  . Internal compass, 1 point.
  
  Flaws:
  . Dark Secret, 3 points: The fact that she along with her former merc company were involved in the mass slaughter and destruction of civilians at a town in the east, a fact she's not proud of and generally tries to keep sealed up.
  
  . Nightmares, 2 points: Nightmares of the previously mentioned event.
  
  . Greater Curse, 3 points.

[Chiiro]

Oh how long had it been now, that he had been walking onwards in this godforsaken desert? It felt like the sand under his feet had become a part of him ever since his shoes fell apart two days ago.
The searing heat was making him lightheaded and dizzy, nauseous even. He hadn't had any water since a while before his shoes gave out and it was getting to him.

He sank to his knees, his mouth dry and his lips cracked and thought to himself I'm going to die out here...
Had he any energy in him he would've panicked at the though, he'd always feared death more than anything else.

"Giving up, are we?" A voice resounded mockingly in his head.
He tried responding but his throat was too dry to let him.
"If you're going to die already you've really wasted my time, you know" The spirit taunted him, mocking him, it irked him badly.

He pushed himself up on one foot, then the other, and he resumed his slow, staggering walk.
"You know, if you died out here nobody would ever know but me" The spirit chortled.
"And nobody would care, either way"
Because I am nothing... the boy thought. I am nothing and I will amount to nothing...

The sun felt hotter by the second, the sweat covering his body felt like it was dragging him down.
He fell to the ground again shortly, his face flat against the sand.
"You really are hopeless"

The boy opened his mouth and tried forcing the words out.
"I... I am nothing... And I will amount... To nothing" His voice was raspy and cracked.
"That's the reality of your master, it doesn't have to be that way for you" The spirit chuckled in his head.
"Get up, boy, and soldier on, or the afterlife will take you"

If I am nothing, then why would it matter if I died?
In one short insight, the boy overcame his fear of death through the words of his teacher.
If I can become something, why would I let myself die?
In another short insight, the boy overcame his weakness and rose to his feet.

He stared at the sun, and he could swear it was getting bigger... as if it was coming closer.
It grew bigger and bigger, and suddenly it touched his forehead.
For an instant that seemed an eternety, Aureus Síla felt the power of the sun.
Keep fighting, chosen of the unconquered sun, you're destined for something great. A choir of voices resounded in his head.

Before he knew it, the sun was back up in it's spot in the sky, but it didn't feel quite so burning anymore. In fact he no longer felt as tired or heavy as before.
"Now that's better. Just a few more steps, it's on the other side of that dune" The spirit chortled in his ear.

The final steps over the final dune felt as comfortable and easy as a walk through his master's garden, and what awaited him on the other side was surprisingly similar to a garden.
An oasis in the middle of the desert, surrounded by flowers of all kinds in dark brown soil.

"Told you it was here" The spirit teased him. "Now keep walking"
Aureus set straight for the water and threw himself in.
"I've led you here, now lets talk about my payment"
Aureus swallowed a mouthful of water and cleared his throat.
"What could you possibly want from me?"
"I've always wanted to have kids, you know?"
"I. Am NOT. A girl" Aureus almost yelled, seemingly at himself, stadning in a lonely oasis in the middle of nowhere.
"I know that, I want your ability to reproduce"

Aureus Síla stopped for a while.
"You, uh... you're not going to be taking any... parts, are you?" He wondered, trying to sound as nice as possible.
"No, no. God no, what would I do with that? Don't answer that, it's rhetorical. No, it's more... abstract that that" The spirit said, sounding slightly disturbed.
"So, uh, what's it gonna do?"
"You'll be unable to have children, that's pretty much it. Deal?"
He thought for a while, considering a life without children against a life with children. He figured he really didn't want to put anyone through life in this world, really.
"Deal, get it over with"
"I already did while you were thinking"
"Wh- b- then why ask me!? And I didn't even notice!"
He didn't get any response whatsoever.
"Are you still there..?"
Yet more silence.

"Now how am I going to get home..?"
Wading back to the edge of the water, he came upon something glittering in the sand.
Two bracers consisting of a golden material he'd never really seen before, one with a strange sort of stone set in a socket.
Inside the other bracer, there was a scroll and a bottle of thick black oil.
He rolled up the scroll, it seemed to detail a sorcerous procedure... some sort of summoning from a quick glance. At the bottom was a quick scribble.
My final gift to you
Aureus Síla looked up to the sky, at the orb of light, burning brightly. He felt renewed, with new strenght, as if exalted by some mystical power...

[Anna]

Most of you young whipper-snappers won't even get this joke, most likely. I'll bet the majority of you have even heard of Captain Planet, but...

* Anna just pictured Terrestrials as the Planeteers.
<Anna> "Earth!" "Fire!" "Wind!" "Water!" "Wood!" "... Hehe... Wood."
* Siber sets fire to you
<Anna> "By your powers combined, I have got an ERECTION!"
<Anna> And that is why they replaced that guy with Heart. :3 Because Captain Boner is just wrong.
<Siber> ...
* Siber has left #Wainsborough
* Anna laughing too hard.
* Anna can't breathe.
* Chiiro pat Anna
<Chiiro> there there
<Arcalane> :x