Exalted

[buoyant summit]

lmao

[velvet raft]

I should play around with that one sid seven-section staff that lets you be a pathfinder magus more

[knotty island]

I am.. Starting to implode from all the stuff I need to do in character creation. 😭

[velvet raft]

I could never really figure out a spell that would be really good to toss around with it

[bleak hazel]

gah, single point

[knotty island]

I've only gotten to step 5! D:

[velvet raft]

Anything we can give you a hand with?

[bleak hazel]

note: ensure whatever I make has a Perfect on the E2 track due to the existence of Single Point

[velvet raft]

Are you using the Master Sheet? I find it makes things easier, personally

[buoyant summit]

You are indeed going to have to deal with a Single Point Master in the form of a Dilf Lesbian Lunar Warlord

Though not necessarily in a fight

[knotty island]

I tried to use the GDoc sheet if that's what you mean?

[bleak hazel]

Single Point is not intended to be the instant-kill-everything most powerful MA in the game but it is

[buoyant summit]

The Master sheet is the google sheet, aye

[velvet raft]

Yeah, the google sheets one with a ton of automation

[knotty island]

Right. Well.. It kind of just sort of. Didn't automate?

[buoyant summit]

?

[bleak hazel]

make copy, save independently, open up local copy

[buoyant summit]

Did you let it copy over the accompanying scripts when you made your own copy?

[bleak hazel]

approve the external scripts

should work

[knotty island]

I am 95% sure yes.

Rhi the Kobold Bun (She/Her) ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) Did you let it copy over the accompanying scripts when you made your own copy?

[velvet raft]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1pfjmZKzcUqAX9mB58IAEUIFkZr8rq4CvdRRM4kzwwgU/edit?gid=655784735#gid=655784735 This thing, to be sure?

[buoyant summit]

...Huh

[knotty island]

This is what my points are labelled as.

0/9
0/7
0/5
6/28
0/2
0/2
3/4
10/10
15/15
0/0
15/15

Which seems.. Wrong. Very wrong. How do I not have my 9 primary attribute points? They're right there.

[bleak hazel]

those are points remaining to spend

[buoyant summit]

You haven't spent any

yeah lol

Those are amounts you fill up for the sheet

[bleak hazel]

sheet starts at 9/9 with no dots on the board and decreases

[knotty island]

Ohhhh.

It's backwards to what I expected.

[velvet raft]

It means you have 9 points to spend on the set of attributes you choose as primary

[knotty island]

Mhm. But I'm at 0/9 which means I got it right.

[velvet raft]

Yep

You spent nine, so now the sheet lists you as having 0 free ones left

:D

Also, if you do have other questions, feel free to ask

[velvet raft]

The best spell I could ever figure out to use with it was Unslakable Thirst Of The Devil Maw, which did always feel a bit off

Maybe I was underestimating Obsidian Butterflies or something

[buoyant summit]

What's your primary and ish?

[knotty island]

Ish?

[buoyant summit]

'stuff'

s'weird I know

it's a Cali thing afaik

[knotty island]

Sorry, head busy is all so I'm a bit. ><

[buoyant summit]

ur good lol

[knotty island]

Physical/Mental/Social is P/S/T.

[buoyant summit]

You will find Sire-Queen a likeminded being in all likelihood xD

[knotty island]

I'm down to dealing with my merits and. I am..

[velvet raft]

Ah, the classic layout :D

[buoyant summit]

you need help?

[velvet raft]

What splat are you playing?

[buoyant summit]

Full Moon Lunar

last I checked

[knotty island]

Well I'm not doing it for me but I'm the person who "designed" Bǎihé originally and er. I'm not in good headspace but I'm pushing through anyway.

[buoyant summit]

Right

sorry about that Josie

[knotty island]

It's okay.

I am staring at artefact weapons and thinking is this fine at char creation.

[buoyant summit]

You don't have to be ready by game time, it's a session 0

[buoyant summit]

Yes

You don't get all those evocations at the start, mind

[knotty island]

I seee. Because Bǎihé's kind of distinctive for her massively oversized weapon.

[buoyant summit]

You have to spend xp to learn them

[velvet raft]

Explicitly, the only artifact weapons you even need to ask your GM about are 5-stars

[buoyant summit]

But yeah a relic weapon with evocations is fine

Are you looking at the giant lunar axe xD

[velvet raft]

And that's more because 5-star artifacts tend to have big deal story significance

[knotty island]

I have no idea.

I see. Whereas this is meant to be like..

gkathellar (he/him) ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) And that's more because 5-star artifacts tend to have big deal story significance

[buoyant summit]

What weapon are you looking at, if a specific one?

[knotty island]

This thing, but I might be misunderstanding.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/00/Shanxi_1.jpg

[velvet raft]

Do you have a sense of what you want the guandao to do, in terms of special powers?

All artifact weapons are a bit better than regular weapons, and have a power that turns on just for attuning one

And then they have evocations

[knotty island]

Hmmm.

[buoyant summit]

Oh, my apologies I thought you were looking at a specific artifact weapon

[velvet raft]

Which are artifact weapon charms

[knotty island]

Let me ask Bǎihé, since it's her weapon.

[buoyant summit]

The artifact weapon type a guandao of that size would be is probably a grimcleaver

Those are the 'giant axe/cutting polearm' artifact weapons

[velvet raft]

There is a fancy lunar axe in the book which I think Rhi was referring to, which is specialized in destroying geomancy

[buoyant summit]

I was yeah lol

[velvet raft]

Pretty cool stuff

[buoyant summit]

Death at the Root

[bleak hazel]

"grand grimcleaver" is the artifact variant with the exact same tags as the regular polearm

[buoyant summit]

But a normal moonsilver or whatever material you like grand grimcleaver is like

3 motes

and you can just have one

[bleak hazel]

5 motes attunement cost, like all artifact weapons

[buoyant summit]

You're a fucking demigod you can have a fancy magic Guandao of Stupid Proportions

[velvet raft]

But if you give us a sense of what kind of cool powers you want, we can trawl to see if there's anything fun to adapt

And yeah, artifact weapons have often been considered Huge By Default

[buoyant summit]

or rather Bǎihé can

[bleak hazel]

3-5 merit dots, although artifact 3 and artifact 5 have the same stats and as such mostly differ on flashiness of attached optional skill tree

[buoyant summit]

sorry

[knotty island]

I.. Hm. Bǎihé doesn't have a melee weapon ikon (which is what we're basing her stuff on), she's got "I go as fast as a horse", "I can see your exact weakpoints", and "Fuck you, explosive arrows".

And honestly, the important one is really going as fast as a horse.

[buoyant summit]

Also how is their name pronounced? My (admittedly sparse) knowledge of (I think) Chinese pronunciation is telling me 'Bee-huh'?

[bleak hazel]

then grab a big artifact weapon and take a bunch of Lunar charms and you're good

[knotty island]

/paɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹ xɤ³⁵/

[bleak hazel]

3 dot artifact weapon with just the attunement bonus as a statstick is perfectlly allowed

[knotty island]

I can't pronounce this accurately and consistantly.

[buoyant summit]

Oh god idk how to read that I'm sorry

<XD

[velvet raft]

FWIW, you can absolutely just take a 3-dot one and worry about evocations and attunement bonus later

[buoyant summit]

And yeah there are explicit charms for all these save 'explosive arrows' just in Lunar

explosive arrows is like

[wise ocean]

, my deeb has a 3* artifact he'll be scaling up to five over time as he Unlocks Its Potential™

[buoyant summit]

artifacts/martial arts shit

[knotty island]

3-dot artefact is just like, "woah that's cool"?

[buoyant summit]

Ye

[merry arch]

exceptional weapon vs. magical weapon

[buoyant summit]

Nice and magical and only wieldable by Exalted

[velvet raft]

Every artifact weapon is essentially a unique object

[buoyant summit]

No, 3 dots are still magic and only able to be wielded by Exalted

[velvet raft]

You can't just mass-produce them, per se

[merry arch]

my misunderstanding dont listen to me

[buoyant summit]

They're just magical to get to the point of being a fancy weapon

And not anything else

[knotty island]

Yes, hers is.. Meant to like, be a recognisable artefact tied to her, if that makes sense?

But more in the legendary sense.

[velvet raft]

Yeah, that's pretty normal for artifact weapons

[buoyant summit]

Artifact weapons are all unique and typically have storied wielders

So ye

[knotty island]

Like, everybody knows she has an impossibly large glaive she swings around like a human swings a normal one.

[buoyant summit]

It is the Mark By Which She Is Known

[knotty island]

She's The Fox General With The Glaive, yeah.

[velvet raft]

Number of dots typically governs how powerful the artifact-specific charms get, more than anything else

[buoyant summit]

Yeah that's handled just by being a 3 dot artifact Josie, no need to stress about a specific statblock

[knotty island]

Yehyehyeh, just checking.

[buoyant summit]

Sire-Queen's sword is just

[knotty island]

I still have 6 merits.

[buoyant summit]

A nice daiklave

[knotty island]

Well, Bǎihé does.

[buoyant summit]

It's her daiklave tho, no one else has Howling Slayer

[velvet raft]

Exalted's absolutely got you for "big, unique, emblematic weapon"

[buoyant summit]

And just like Sire, Baihe can have a unique guandao thats just a nice artifact guandao

[velvet raft]

Unrelated: looking at Witch-Beast Pact again, and screaming inside at how little this paragraph actually means -_-

[buoyant summit]

It'll still have a name and be indelibly associated with Baihe

[bleak hazel]

an E1 exalt running around with a 5-dot artifact weapon typically means the artifact is going to be a major component of the character and the story

[velvet raft]

While also appreciating the reference to Lloyd Alexander

[bleak hazel]

as in, "way more people have heard of your sword than have heard of you"

[buoyant summit]

I'll let you guys have 5 dots, but yeah

[velvet raft]

There's some really intensely cool weapons at 3 dots

[buoyant summit]

None that are Reaper Daiklaves which makes me sad

[bleak hazel]

3-4 dots are big, obvious flashy artifact weapons that all have unique gimmicks, but you will still read as "an exalt with a daiklaive" rather than "some dude had fucking Stormcaller"

[buoyant summit]

And all the other daiklave ones are like

Pairs

Or fucking

[bleak hazel]

mine are usually customs but I also don't go deep into my evo trees

[buoyant summit]

The one that flies

[bleak hazel]

they do the jobs I want them to do

[velvet raft]

Lemme actually open up Arms and see if there's anything that relates to Run Real Fast

[bleak hazel]

there are some boots, I think

[velvet raft]

There's the Distaff

[knotty island]

nodnodnodnod. Yeah.

Rhi the Kobold Bun (She/Her) ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) And just like Sire, Baihe can have a unique guandao thats just a nice artifact guandao

[velvet raft]

The weird blunt one

[buoyant summit]

Sire would deride it as a sword unable to cut

And its unlocked form the butterfly has to be a custom job

[velvet raft]

If you did want to crib a set of evocations about a weapon being extremely Big And Heavy, adapting the Fist of Titans could maybe work?

It's a grand goremaul by default but its whole deal is charging up to hit like a bomb going off

[knotty island]

putting hand up. Bǎihé has a tail and foxfire, can we take the 1-merit tail and natural missile supernatural merits?

sighs. Natural missile is 2-dot, so we'd rather take that over tail if allowed. Because it's a supernatural, needs GM permission.

[buoyant summit]

You're a lunar idgaf

Also Hybrid form charm exists

[knotty island]

Yay. :3

[velvet raft]

Aye, you can pick up mutation merits on a slightly more temporary basis if needed

And hell, even just stick in hybrid form most of the time

You'd have to rework some of the evocations since they're oriented around Solars as-is, but the Tusk of Galaech-Ma is a pretty cool polearm with evocations focused around hunting a chosen target

Moonreaver from Many-Faced Strangers is a fancy scythe with ice powers

[velvet raft]

I'm not even sure there are any existing 3-dot animal familiars that aren't huge dinosaurs

[knotty island]

I have to say..

These charms? An absolute blast that reflects eht exact sort of bullshit Bǎihé pulls off.

[buoyant summit]

lmao

[velvet raft]

Yep! That's Exalted

It's absolutely about Crazy Demigod/Cultivator Bullshit

Lunars have a very well-designed list as well

[knotty island]

Yep. She was designed as a PF2e Fighter then Exemplar who was just Really Good At Fighting™ to the point she became on par with fucking demons. And then. Then I bring her here and it's just right.

[velvet raft]

If you really want to lean into animal powers, you may want to look into Hybrid-Body Transformation and its follow-up, Deadly Beastman Transformation

[knotty island]

No no, she doesn't need those.

She's just distinctively a kitsunemimi.

[velvet raft]

Also of note is the Relentless Lunar Fury line, which is for being Really Goddamn Angry

Lunars can be tough, and RLF lets them leverage some of the penalties for being wounded into power

[buoyant summit]

I will say Josie, Hybrid-Body lets you have six dots worth of mutation merits

[knotty island]

Yes and? We don't need these where we're going! :3

[velvet raft]

Yeah, IIRC you can just sit in Hybrid-Body all the time if you need some extra merits

[buoyant summit]

Mutation merits including the fox ears and such

[knotty island]

Josephine is just picking up a bunch of Dexterity harms like er.. Ooh piece of candy, ooh piece of candy.

[buoyant summit]

I would really recommend it

lmao

[velvet raft]

But either way, Lunars have lots of fun stuff

Also take note of the Protean effects, which will give charms extra effects if the Lunar has an appropriate spirit shape (i.e. fox, in your case)

Hm, question: is there a way to use Flight of the Brilliant Raptor at melee range without, er, suffering the effects of casting fireball on oneself?

[knotty island]

Also, I like how the melee weapon stat is dex.

[limpid badge]

Don't forget to go grab some nice generalist charms

[velvet raft]

Dex is by default sort of the ur-combat stat

[limpid badge]

I only know what they are in the Solariod set but you'll want a Social Defense, Light Body Technique for your Splat, and maybe a couple of other Utility charms

[buoyant summit]

Ox-Body Technique is the lunar one

[velvet raft]

They’ve gradually introduced more and more charms that let combat Exalts favor things other than dex

[bleak hazel]

you can always just get a huge pool for dodging fire hazards, if it's not going to be your only attack method

[limpid badge]

Oh yeah Ox/Corpse Bodies are worth

[bleak hazel]

not too hard

[velvet raft]

Thinking about it for a Seven-Star Alignment Sid, specifically

[bleak hazel]

one ox body minimum, two good, three possibly a bit overkill, any higher is a waste

[limpid badge]

bloody hand needs more Corpse-Bodies

[bleak hazel]

seems like you are probably not dropping it on your own head much of the time

[limpid badge]

my friends helped me a lot whipping up this nice generalist charmset for BH

[velvet raft]

No? Wouldn’t I have to worry about the bonfire?

[bleak hazel]

well you would, but "get a giant pool for dodging environmental hazards and just excellency it a bit" is a plausible answer here

[velvet raft]

Fair enough

[bleak hazel]

or grab Water-and-Fire Treaty if you have suitable stats for it

[velvet raft]

Any obvious way to protect a familiar from the same?

[bleak hazel]

Water-and-Fire Treaty at E2 Presence 4, apparently

alternatively, Unburnt Majesty from the burny burn burn shaping ritual in core

which costs you nothing but two merit dots to get double 8s on fire hazards

[velvet raft]

... oh, yeah, and this character would have 5 charisma

So

That would work well

[bleak hazel]

a bonfire is 4L, so you need 5 hardness against fire hazards to tank it, which means WAFT is just guaranteed fine

although it does cost you 1 mote near-forever

[knotty island]

So a fun fact, we turned up exactly on 15 charms by just. Being interrupted.

[velvet raft]

... actually I can just cast Invulnerable Skin of Bronze on the familiar

[bleak hazel]

hazards ignore hardness at base, so I'm not sure that works

Water and Fire Treaty works because it specifies the hazards

[velvet raft]

Oh, huh

Okay

Gotcha

[bleak hazel]

do you intend to be fireballing yourself every single round or is emergency protection acceptable?

[velvet raft]

Probably not every round

Flight of the Brilliant Raptor really just looks like by far the best spell to cast with Seven Star Alignment

[buoyant summit]

l m a o

What did you guys pick?

[knotty island]

Er.

Glance-Oration Technique
Argument-Eclipsing Shadow
Sinuous Striking Grace
Agile Beast Defense
Cunning Beast-Warrior Reflexes
Coiled Serpent Strikes
Striking Mospid Method
Instinct-Driven Beast Movement
Tiger Claw Swat
Ferocious Biting Tooth
Mighty Ram Smash
World-Shaking Slam
Angry Rhino Charge
Bounding Bharal Technique
Ox-Body Technique

[buoyant summit]

Pretty good

[velvet raft]

Good stuff

[buoyant summit]

Standard Beatstick Lunar

[knotty island]

Yep. She just runs around at hyperspeed and hits things. :3

[buoyant summit]

lol

[velvet raft]

I don’t recall offhand, do you have something to negate Onslaught penalties in there?

[buoyant summit]

I do find it funny that the prim and proper Lunar general has a theoretically less complex combat method than her barbarian warrior-queen counterpart

[knotty island]

When I say hyperspeed I mean, she moves like Red Hare.

[velvet raft]

Ye

[buoyant summit]

Since the latter has two fucking martial arts xD

[knotty island]

I have no idea. I don't understand the question. xD

gkathellar (he/him) ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) I don’t recall offhand, do you have something to negate Onslaught penalties in there?

[velvet raft]

Oh, uh, an onslaught penalty is a defense penalty imposed by suffering multiple attacks in succession

Most exalts have charms to get around this

[knotty island]

No, Bǎihé is noted to be distinctly weak against hordes attacking her.

[velvet raft]

And for a true beatstick it may not be aha

[buoyant summit]

making detrimental character choices out here

Respect

[knotty island]

She's basically a.. Okay, have you played Total War: Warhammer?

[buoyant summit]

She's a duelist lord

[velvet raft]

(It may not be priority #1 but it’s good to pick up relatively early)

[knotty island]

I was gonna say she was a one-woman gank team.

But yes, she is 100% a duellist legendary lord.

Also I imagine that as part of her like, daily wear, as well as her jian and her yanyuedao, she just has a peachwood baton.

Specifically for admonishing students with.

[buoyant summit]

snrk

yeah you can have a fancy baton

That's even a weapon type xD

[knotty island]

No not as a weapon.

Just to tap people on the head with.

[buoyant summit]

lol

[knotty island]

But yes, her shtick before getting scooped up is er.

General-seeking fomx missile.

[buoyant summit]

lol

also, I have spent 50 of Sire-Queen's Lunar XP on martial arts

[velvet raft]

This thing not allowing one to spread around Water and Fire Treaty is a travesty >_>

@bleak hazel AHA

Step 1: Create massive bonfire
Step 2: Persuade massive bonfire to be friends
Step 3: ????
Step 4: Profit

Also has a weaker prereq that does something similar-ish

... sids what the fuck is wrong with you

[prisma sun]

The 100 best cheaters

[velvet raft]

Did you know that a sidereal can treat riding on someone's shoulders as valid for mounted combat

[buoyant summit]

I have discovered the Lunar Fuck Evasion, Who Needs Evasion Charm tree

[velvet raft]

Stamina?

[buoyant summit]

Beast Armor, Durant Quicksilver, Moonsilver Carapace

'Hi I would like 11 Soak on top of any armor for only -2 mobility please'

[velvet raft]

Throw in RLF and a spirit shape with Berserker for shits and giggles

[buoyant summit]

Nah I need at least one more social charm

[velvet raft]

And make the armor the one set that works to enhance RLF

(This is a classic and very unoriginal setup that I adore)

[buoyant summit]

She only has Glance, Lunar Trick, True to the Pack, and Shepherd Vigil

Out of

counts

29 and counting Charms

[velvet raft]

(At one point I made a Lunar premised almost entirely on Artifacts With Questionable Effects On The User's Mental Health)

[buoyant summit]

You know

Is it normal to have a ratio of like

25/4 of combat and social charms

[velvet raft]

It can be!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12Q6wOe-uroZpcHH1n8epcPV0eyM1tEaLjHJpkue1ETQ/edit?gid=655784735#gid=655784735

This was her

She has:

• the sword that draws on and amplifies hatred
• the shield that draws on and amplifies doubt
• the armor that draws on and amplifies anger

[buoyant summit]

"Hey, hey you."

"Not a scratch~"

Oh I forgot to add the hardness

14

total Hardness

[velvet raft]

Yep

Gotta bring some soak-ignoring charms :D

[buoyant summit]

lmao

But yeah while I intended to make this character what I thought would be a very non-Lunar Lunar

Almost all her combat engine is her body and two martial arts

Well I mean

That's all her combat engine

But most of that is just Lunar shit

[velvet raft]

Lunars have some good shit

[buoyant summit]

They do indeed

Also hold on

It says the Moonsilver carapace melds with armor and gives you the best of both armors

I'm in light armor, does that mean I ignore the mobility penalty?

[velvet raft]

Yeah, basically it lets you have the best stats of heavy and light

[buoyant summit]

Holy fuck??????

and it waives the attune cost too????

[velvet raft]

My favorite anti-soak trick is on sids, and consists of two pieces of nonsense

[velvet raft]

Because you're committing motes for moonsilver carapace

[buoyant summit]

At Essence 3, the duration becomes indefinite

Ah, indefinite, but not Permanent

[velvet raft]

Aye, indefinite means the motes are committed

[buoyant summit]

Well, SQ is always at at least uh

[velvet raft]

Just for as long as you want

[buoyant summit]

God what's level 3

[velvet raft]

Oh it's still very good

[velvet raft]

And here's why this works

Knives count as thrown weapons

[buoyant summit]

lmao nice

So Sire-Queen is gonna always be at only 31 peripheral motes, accounting for the motes invested in Howling Slayer

However

24 Soak

26, excuse me

Jesus fucking Christ 26 soak

[velvet raft]

Lunars!

[knotty island]

Bǎihé has ended up at er. 38 peripheral notes. I'm not sure if that's correct.

..Oh yeah we have 7 bonus ducks points left over.

[buoyant summit]

That is correct

[buoyant summit]

Normal Lunar Intimacies Moment

[knotty island]

Oh God we need to do the intimacies as well.

[buoyant summit]

You should make Baihe a Solar (or Abyssal or Infernal) girlfriend

or boyfriend or indeterminate

[chilly sluice]

Merits and skills is usually a good use of your BP

[velvet raft]

As a lunar, favored attributes are very efficient as well

(which can free points to move to non-favored ones)

[chilly sluice]

oh right, forgot your attributes will be more important for Lunar

[buoyant summit]

Oh yeah I know who ur fuckin Discord icon is now lmao

[velvet raft]

Now on the one hand I probably don't need Resources 5 or Divine Heritage and I would have more ability points without them, but also.

[buoyant summit]

A most Divine Nepo Baby

[velvet raft]

Yes actually

[buoyant summit]

lol

[velvet raft]

Notably, Sidereals are Chosen at birth, unlike other Exalts

[buoyant summit]

Whomst is Lupercal?

[velvet raft]

They don't actually Exalt until much later

[prisma sun]

Horus

[velvet raft]

But there's a lot of Weird Fate Shit surrounding the moment of Exaltation, since it was Foretold

[buoyant summit]

Hush Voy

wrong chat xD

[chilly sluice]

it's a good fox 😛

[buoyant summit]

The Cassie system almost made Baihe into an Exigent of Shifune lmao

[velvet raft]

Her familiar, in that earlier draft

[buoyant summit]

Ahhhh

[velvet raft]

"The Hound of Five Winds"

[buoyant summit]

Speaking of character backstories

[velvet raft]

Not sure I'd keep that particular familiar

[buoyant summit]

Would it be feasible for a Lunar's moment of Exaltation to be the killing of their previous incarnation?

[velvet raft]

Probably not? Maybe not completely out of the question, though

[buoyant summit]

The odds would be very circumstantially stacked in that instance of course

[velvet raft]

Exaltations usually return to Lytek, god of exaltations, for cleaning

[buoyant summit]

The Lunar being affected by subtle divine poison, said Lunar's Solar mate training the soon-to-be Lunar in martial arts, etc

[velvet raft]

But Lytek doesn't actually assign them

So I suppose in theory one could go straight to its next host

I'd bet the past-life memories would be unusually intense

[velvet raft]

I forgot how into making this character I got

[prisma sun]

Call this man Gordion cuz of all these Ties

[knotty island]

Question: Can ties be like, to the dead? Or do they have to be alive?

[merry arch]

ties are just emotional connections to people, places and things. so yes, the tie can be dead.

[knotty island]

I seeeeee.

We definitely want one to be the empire she serve(s/ed), and then probably another to be her predecessor as Grand Commandant.

[prisma sun]

Consider:

Ghosts

[buoyant summit]

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WIv9d1z2IhY?feature=share

Newly Exalted Abyssal finding the fucker who killed them

[velvet raft]

Thinkin' about Mice of the Sun

[tulip folio]

Best Familiar

[velvet raft]

They are pretty great, but also consider Barrow Hounds

Giant banshee dogs

[tulip folio]

I also like Unicorns.

I know the 'best' is Tyrant Lizard but tyrant lizard is also kinda bullshit

[velvet raft]

I'm reworking an old sid I made who has way too many things going on, including Witch-Beast Pact

My thought for the familiar is a Metagalapan Riding Hawk with some kind of magical upgrades (it's normally 2-dot, so)

Or possibly a modified Barrow Hound of some kind

I feel like whatever it is needs to be (a) rideable, and (b) fly

[bleak hazel]

Lunars exalt after actually meeting Luna, she shows up for a chat. Even beyond that it's a bit of a stretch - Exaltations are known to have a bit of a sense for the dramatic since there are several known cases of siblings who both exalted as celestials, and that would normally be stupidly impossible given the statistics, but a mortal killing an exalt is already exceptionally rare, let alone that exaltation then immediately exalting that one particular person.

[velvet raft]

But tragically Witch-Beast Pact rules out a sky titan

[velvet raft]

The exceptional rarity of a mortal killing an exalt feels like it could increase the odds, if anything

The Exaltation, thinking: holy shit that just happened I gotta make this count

[bleak hazel]

admittedly I tend to steer away from "I exalted after [exceptional feat of martial prowess]" cases in general

(also if you're not Exalted or similarly empowered then "learning martial arts" is normal human physical combat, you do need some form of magic boost to do any of the wuxia stuff)

[velvet raft]

Aye, mechanically speaking mortal martial arts are just eclectic packages of weapons that can be used alongside unarmed fighting (usually) all off of one ability

I like to think that a mortal can learn Snake Style or whatever and just can't learn any charms for it

[bleak hazel]

we know that is the case because there's a snake style dojo where the top half a dozen guys are empowered by a snake spirit and actually get some of the charms

[velvet raft]

Aha

pondering Would something using the basic stat block Barrow Hound, with most of its underworld-specific abilities removed and replaced with riding hawk stuff, seem fair as a 3-dot familiar? Maybe keeping Portent Pose, Harrow, Pack Hunting, and Barghest Howl while adding flight and the various riding hawk abilities? Describe it as the elemental-blooded dog equivalent of a huraka?

Maybe rephrase eagle eye to be based on scent since dog?

[fierce star]

Hot take I miss enlightened mortals

[tulip folio]

I do really feel like it wouldn't be that hard to do them in an Interesting Way for 3e.

I think the way I'd set them up? They have an essence pool but unlike exalts, it doesn't automatically fill.

They need to do rituals to fill it up.

So an enlightened mortal might have 15-20 motes to play with but that's all the motes he has until he spends hours in meditation or drinking or whatever his 'recover motes' ritual is.

While exalts have that 5/turn in combat going all the time.

[ruby geyser]

infernals is going to have demonblooded mechanics, could probably use their mote pools as a reference point

(they get like 10 motes i think)

ah, my mistake, i was mixing up the demon blooded, which havent gotten specific mechanics in the manuscript previews yet, with mortals who get the Investiture of Hell merit, which is going to be Ex3's answer to the Akuma(which are called Warlocks now)

but yeah mortals who take that get a pool of 10 motes and Exalted Healing(and then a varying number of charms depending on the level of investiture they get)

[velvet raft]

I don't think any of the manuscript stuff so far has extensive mechanics, but warlocks might be a thing to look at as well

Re: enlightened mortals

[ruby geyser]

yeah so far we just have the first 2 chapters, and the only thing remotely mechanics-related is the investiture of hell merit

[bleak hazel]

Divine Heritage is your standard enlightened mortal package, I believe

[tulip folio]

Mind you, Divine Heritage doesn't actually give motes, which I think was the main thing with enlightend mortals.

As it let them do Martial Arts

[fierce star]

martial arts and sorcery back when sorcery took Real Motes (TM) yeah

in ex2 mortal mote pools were like, essence x 10, and it was a rare mortal that got over essence 1

I did once put an essence 5 heroic mortal martial artist up against a lunar participating in a martial arts competition once and that was a really fun bossfight, Old Master against Young Thug (TM)

[bleak hazel]

Divine Heritage provides a mote pool if you don't have one already

[tulip folio]

Does it? I must have missed that.

[buoyant summit]

Huh, didn't know that bit about Luna

[velvet raft]

Luna and the Maidens are much closer to their Exalts than the Sun is to the Solars

Who only even speaks to Zenith-caste

The Maidens literally have offices upstairs from where the Sids work, and Luna meets with all of her new Exalts

[buoyant summit]

Damn, I thought my idea was cool but it makes no sense 😔

[tulip folio]

The maidens are close enough that Venus is heaven's #1 collector of HR writeups.

[velvet raft]

I think it could be workable as a moment that confuses the hell out of everyone

The Exaltation just being like "FUCK I'm never going to have a chance like this again"

Lytek and Luna both kinda freaking out

... to be tbh I could see it as an excuse for a non-ronin Sid to be in the same party as said Lunar

[ruby geyser]

i thought that got changed in 3e? or am i misremembering and that is the new normal for 3e

[velvet raft]

Heaven just like "well that didn't go the way it was supposed to, fuck, send somebody"

But that's just me :D

Abyssals also "benefit" from having their patrons relatively close

[next delta]

3e at least mentions that he only talks to the Zenith castes I'm pretty sure.

[bleak hazel]

For a given value of patron

[velvet raft]

Yeah

[next delta]

I think he also generally doesn't say a whole lot either?

[velvet raft]

Although even if we see it as the Neverborn, Whispers exist

[bleak hazel]

I don't think that would attract Sids unless they were there already, too

[velvet raft]

GO FORTH MY CHILD AND DO SOMETHING OR sniffs a line of cocaine SOMETHING OR OTHER

[bleak hazel]

Exaltation is fundamentally unpredictable so you just shrug and write it up as another curveball

[velvet raft]

Like, as an Abyssal you can just walk into Falafel's office and get him to look at you like your overly judgmental dad who demands you call him sir

[buoyant summit]

This idea is for an npc 😔

[velvet raft]

Aye, just thinking kinda broadly

"Lytek cashed in all of his chips to put in a request" type of plot beat

And re: the backer draft, everybody sucks up to Infernals in Hell

And the Yozi send them visions

DBs are uniquely SOL re: their patrons, with Solars being close seconds, and Alchemicals probably taking a very debatable third

[bleak hazel]

the Maidens have the powers that the plot demands and Luna is incredibly capricious, so nobody who has direct access to their patron can just use them as a problem solving machine

[velvet raft]

Aye

The big thing is that like ... that's literally your job, to some degree

[bleak hazel]

the Neverborn aren't very good at the whole conscious action thing, Sol is busy fucking around and Exigent patrons are often considerably weaker than their champions and, as gods, have existing jobs

[velvet raft]

You are the problem-solving machine

If the Maidens want a problem solved, they send a sid

[bleak hazel]

the people who are your powerful higher-ups tend to be elder exalts or equivalents

(deathlords, mostly)

[velvet raft]

And they, again, are busy and expect to be able to delegate to their exalts

[bleak hazel]

you can get Anys Syn or Lilith to come punch one of your problems through the nearest mountain range but it'll usually cost you in a variety of ways

[velvet raft]

Well, okay, most of them are busy

A few of them just hang upside down from monkey bars (figurative) all day

[bleak hazel]

(Sids actually have a charm that lets them kick problems upstairs to the local elemental dragon cop but because the Celestial Censors are in a different bureau it causes jurisdiction issues and they get grumpy about it)

[velvet raft]

But one can no more ask a superior to solve all their problems as an exalt than one can as a civil servant

That is what they have you for

[fierce star]

the poitn of advancing in the civil service is to do less work for more pay with more minions

[bleak hazel]

also the logical consequence of a circle of baby Lunars going out to find the legendary warlord Lilith to save their town or whatever is going to be that she tells you to go do it yourself, possibly after providing a brief training arc before resuming Owl Thoughts Head Empty mode

elder exalts are often a bit eclectic

[velvet raft]

Although it's mostly just that you then spend all of your time talking to minions

Hm. Assuming one does not have the free charms to get to all the way to the form for VBoS, what do folks think is the priority list for those first four charms?

[bleak hazel]

Secrets of Future Strife has to be first, but I would go Blade of the Battle Maiden, then Joy-in-Adversity Stance, then Flight of Mercury

[tulip folio]

Yeah, the big 'cost' of that is that you need to sit there eating crow while the Celestial Censor smugs about how Destiny couldn't do it and they clearly need their help~

[chilly sluice]

The wonders of celestial office politics

[prisma sun]

The big cost is also your entire mote pool

[ruby geyser]

guessing im misremembering then, i think in that case 2e's thing was 'Zeniths get a vision on exaltation' and the community joke was that they basically got a pre-recorded voice mail thing because Sol was too busy snorting divine coke and playing the games of divinity

[prisma sun]

He only talks to Zeniths yeah

[buoyant summit]

For the purposes of Shepherd Wolf Vigil, if the Lunar character and their Solar mate lead a cult-tribe together, would that count for the purpose of the ability waiving a cost if the culture being rolled for by Shepherd Wolf is said cult-tribe?

[prisma sun]

What

[buoyant summit]

True-to-the-Pack Dedication lets you add Essence or Tie non-Charm dice to Resolve rolls to resist influence trying to make you harm an individual you have a positive tie with or your Solar mate. Shepherd Wolf Vigil lets you extend that to cultures, and lets you add +1 to your Resolve for that roll if the culture is ruled by your Solar mate

Would a cult-tribe both you and your Solar Mate rule count for Shepherd Wolf Vigil

and let you add that Resolve

[prisma sun]

Gotcha
Yeah probs

[velvet raft]

Oh, huh, is the only anti-Onslaught tech sids have really trapped in Brawl?

[buoyant summit]

Me when idek where anti-Onslaught is in Lunar

Oh

I have anti-Onslaught tech

But in Single Point xD

[velvet raft]

Yeah, normally sids pick up a lot of stuff from martial arts, but the trouble I'm having is that VBOS is the only style that has both knives and seven-section staffs as form weapons

Which means it's the only thing I can use with Unweaving Method and with Seven Star Alignment

[buoyant summit]

lol

[velvet raft]

Although, hm, batons are also thrown

So Monkey could work

And Mantis

[bleak hazel]

brawl or Impeding The Flow in melee

sadly ITF isn't Versatile

[bleak hazel]

Bending Before The Storm + subsequent charms, Dex

[buoyant summit]

You know

I think I might just go with having the one martial art

saves me the five charms

and I can do more social shenanigans

[velvet raft]

Is there any way to use a non-grappling form weapon with grappling charms from that martial art?

Out of curiosity

The first few Mantis charms do look really good even without doing the grappling stuff, but

Soak doesn't have a bonus limit unless it's from Lunar excellencies, right?

[tulip folio]

Unless expressly stated, there is no limit to soak

This is why Overwhelming exists 😛

To set a soft cap of 'no matter how much you have, X amount will still get through'

[velvet raft]

Aye, just wanted to double-check that the soak bonus from Mantis and from Hero's Iron Skin would stack

[bleak hazel]

Soak stacking is generally agreed to make fights quite dull, admittedly

[velvet raft]

I dunno why I never really looked at Mantis Form before, it's rad

[bleak hazel]

There are some semi-common houserules to limit it slightly but there's no generally agreed best practice and counters do exist

[velvet raft]

I figure having 4 normally, 12-13 in-form, and +5-7 using a defensive charm is probably not overdoing it

[bleak hazel]

That's as much as you'll ever reasonably need, yes

I've seen a proposal to put a dark souls softcap at 15 before, where all soak increase afterwards is halved rounding up

[velvet raft]

That doesn't seem terribly unreasonable

[bleak hazel]

since that means you can get 16 with no diminishment and that's enough to put every normal weapon statblock on overwhelming

just makes it harder to cancel out actual raw damage buffs

[velvet raft]

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LgFRR7Rdns6D-v3I5ZOZGTGKDYH85XyefUhPkUvup5M/edit?usp=sharing Anyway I guess my redo of this girl is complete

Trying to do far too many things simultaneously

But does have some fun synergies

Unorthodox Incantation Tactic and Harmony of Blows in particular kinda constitute a weird 1-2-3 punch

[tulip folio]

...RiRi hits that soft cap the moment she enters form (And is at 10 before it). XD

[buoyant summit]

SQ is there just with armor

no form needed

well she needs quicksilver carapace active but that's not a hard thing

for some reason on the google sheet SQ's second artifact doesn't count towards her calculated merit xp cost

[prisma sun]

King Hu was a Soakbeast too yeah

[bleak hazel]

Lunars essentially get there by default, it's so easy to stack for them

[tulip folio]

And in RiRi's case she's got above 5 stamina because 'alchemical' 😛

[buoyant summit]

So, having freed up 5 charms thanks to no longer wanting a second martial art, should SQ take a third Ox-Body XD

[buoyant summit]

oooo, I have found Charisma warfare charms that SQ would like

[buoyant summit]

Man she looks

Kind of terrifying

10 Join Battle is uh

God damn

[knotty island]

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you on this, but while ghosts good, I don't think they fit Bǎihé's story.

Voy the Nelson Boy ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) Ghosts

TBH, a bit part of it is the social isolation of being (nigh-)immortal surrounded by generations of mortals, to the point you start tracking families and political dynasties rather than people.

[buoyant summit]

You can have ties to dynasties and family trees

I will say that, while your character is a Lunar, a lot of your stuff seems very Dynasty Dragonblooded in tone, so we could maybe explore that if you like

Maybe you were a loyal servant to a Dynast, but Exalted as Anathema and were chased away?

[buoyant summit]

soz forgot to reply (I hope pinging is all right)

[velvet raft]

She’s somewhat min-maxed, but she also has some notable weak points

No ox-body, no dots in resistance or athletics

[buoyant summit]

tru

[velvet raft]

2 perception is going to negatively impact her ability to hit with her offensive spell

It occurs to me that I could make athletics favored instead of melee and only have to move one dot from somewhere

if I were willing to assume the house-rule where linguistics isn’t required to read I would move that dot

But yeah, Wits is a power stat

Since it fuels resolve and join battle, and shows up a lot otherwise

[buoyant summit]

tru

[prisma sun]

Linguistics being required to read is good

[velvet raft]

I do wish I could fit in Divine Heritage since that's part of her whole deal

Hypothetically I could drop Awareness to 3 and the Witch-Beast merit for it

[limpid badge]

for example again, dear bloody hand (spent bp on a STA dot)

[velvet raft]

Appearance, amusingly, is something of a social power stat when on the offensive

Since you can use Appearance to make the rolls themselves, and then also it penalizes people with lower resolve

Which is cool

[limpid badge]

this is why BH is effective APP 4 thanks to everyone's favorite charm Fuckable Corpse Technique Death's Unholy Visage

[velvet raft]

Social being 2/2/3 is kind of a classic spread for combat characters, since you don't really want to be socially inept but it's not a focus by any means, and then also you want to be dead sexy and wicked cool

So it's good that favoring appearance is also just more mechanically meaningful in this edition

Allowing for player vanity (affectionate) is important (genuine)

[knotty island]

We like pings.

Rhi the Kobold Bun (She/Her) ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) soz forgot to reply (I hope pinging is all right)

Ooh, noted. Bǎihé is known to be literate.

Voy the Nelson Boy ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) Linguistics being required to read is good

In fact, very literate.

[tulip folio]

The other common social spread for combat characters is 1/1/5 for Maximum Bimbo. The canonical essence 4 dusk in the abyssal book has it. XD

She's actively been sent to try and learn how to be less gokubrained.

It takes a bit for the deathlords to go 'you need more work/life balance' but it somehow happened to her.

[knotty island]

Ooh. Hehe. :3

Ikiryo ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) The other common social spread for combat characters is 1/1/5 for Maximum Bimbo. The canonical essen…

↖️ calls herself a bimbo </pos>

[tulip folio]

We mathed this out a while ago.

[velvet raft]

I've done it a bunch, and it can actually make a ton of sense for particular kinds of character

People who are striking but socially awkward

Who can nonetheless just kinda leverage how striking and cool they are

[tulip folio]

Her Deathlord’s relationship with her is one of paternal indulgence; he favors her even as her temper sometimes leads her to conflict with his goals. She admires his devotion to the Neverborn and his subversion of the powerful, though she prefers the honesty of violence to his deceptions. Recently, he’s taken to sending her on far-ranging duties to try and teach her restraint and calm, an approach she’s responded to with characteristic impatience.

It eternally amuses me that even in universe she's considered kinda too monofocused on Being A Dusk..

[limpid badge]

Oh wait is this the gal whom im kind of replacing with BH

Gorgon's weilder?

[tulip folio]

Nah, she's got a Soulsteal Grimcleaver.

The Benignant Annihilator of Hope and Falsehood is the essence 4 dusk in the back of the abyssal book

With: Dusk Charms - Yes. Non-Combat Charms - No

[limpid badge]

fair enough! she sounded a bit like... here's the name, Shards of Basalt, servant of Walker-In-Darkness

you can understand why im just saying "no that's bloody hand now"

[tulip folio]

Yep

Defining Principle: Death’s chivalry is the only truth of existence, and I will show it to all.
Defining Principle: I am the scourge of those who think themselves beyond the reach of consequences.
Major Principle: It is better to be feared than loved.
Major Principle: Victory against worthy competition is the sweetest joy.
Major Principle: I seek stories of war and reports of battle.
Major Principle: Better bitter truths than sweet lies.
Major Tie: The self-righteous (Disdain)
Major Tie: The Walker In Darkness (Gratitude)
Minor Tie: Nobles and Aristocrats (Spite)
Minor Tie: War games (Enthusiasm)

Annihilator has literally no intimacies that are not about her liking to fight things and hating dealing with social situations.

There's a reason I call her Gokubrained

Convincing Annihilator to take a medicine charm by telling her that a disease is very strong.

[limpid badge]

aaaw she would make a much better elder disciple than the spider's web im actually throwing bh into

but now bloody hand is going to get a War-Dress Artifact so whose to say if the yandere dressmaker is a bad choice

[buoyant summit]

Is the dress the steel silk or whatever armor?

[limpid badge]

(Duelist’s War-Gown, Artifact ●●●)
“Soulsteel forged from a Kesundang sword-dancer, silk harvested from the spectral spiders that haunt the Vagrant Precincts, the shorn hopes of a runaway Southern princess, the gossamer heart of a graven raksha-prince, and… [REDACTED]”```

[buoyant summit]

lol nice

[buoyant summit]

Also man I need to up my Intimacy writing game

[tulip folio]

The intimacies my current exalt has:

Defining: The Dead Are Part Of Our Community (Principle), Autochthon (Faithful Hope)
Major: Vos-Ulos (Positive Tie, Protective Love), Most Divine Ministers (Positive Tie, Awed Respect), Divine Minister Ku (Negative Tie, Exasperated Frustration), I Am Not A Monster (Principle), Spellcraft (Positive Tie, Joy), It's In Everyone's Best Interests To Be The Best Version Of Themselves For Their Role (Principle)
Minor: Half-Forged (Negative Tie, Horror), Food (Positive Tie, Comfort), Tunnel People (Positive Tie, Sympathy), Rats (Positive Tie, Adorable *and* Tasty!)

[buoyant summit]

lmao

[limpid badge]

intimacies are fun fun fun

[buoyant summit]

These are Sire-Queen's

[limpid badge]

i usually say six is a good minimum, two at each rank

this is also why bloody hand is so uh, contrary, love her love her

[buoyant summit]

Green Scales is an outcaste Deeb and priest of the local religion

[limpid badge]

they're funny to meee

[buoyant summit]

Who is Salty™ that it's bleeding followers to the Wayfaring Howl

It has not come to blows yet, since both are on a council of Exalted that rules the local region of Halta, and civil war is still a dumb idea

[knotty island]

Oh yeah we need to do Bǎihé's. We know she has a Defining Tie, and a Defining Principle.
Her tie is The Empire (we need to name it)
Her principle is The Empire Is Nothing Without Its People.

[buoyant summit]

SQ threatening to seduce Lilies' wife is also not helpful

[coral wraith]

i love sidereal

[limpid badge]

sidereal very funny. grinning mask very good.

[merry arch]

I wanna play my bluesid so bad

she's so fucking dumb

[limpid badge]

love that everyone in the party is meeting BH at where she is (being a bitch)

[buoyant summit]

It'd be hilarious if the reason you're in this region of Halta is to get the local Exalted council to join said Empire

[limpid badge]

i would love a chance to throw the braincell bimbos at something

[knotty island]

I imagine she's far from home, if that makes sense.

[merry arch]

it would be so fun

[buoyant summit]

It would yeah

Exalted gonna Exalted

[knotty island]

Which is why she doesn't have an army under her.

[limpid badge]

it would also make me do that idea @velvet raft brought up that i have been thinking about actually sitting down and trying to make of SMA Gear Five

bc i love the idea of an SMA that's theme is Freedom Is The Strongest and Cartoon Physics

[coral wraith]

[knotty island]

Because she's been picked up by the back of the shirt collar by a giant hand pinching it and just dragging her far far far away.

Not literally obviously but yk.

Same dealio.

[limpid badge]

two beautiful bluesids, the celestial maids of the divine revelry! braincell sisters!!!

[knotty island]

Also, Bǎihé's Social is 1/4/3, which I find funny.

[velvet raft]

I'll be super eager if you ever do make it

[knotty island]

She's a bit of an ice queen, but she's an orator.

[merry arch]

truly it would be so funny to wander around the underworld and manage to crash on random ghosts' couches while they try to find what they're looking for

[knotty island]

Now for a major and minor tie.

[velvet raft]

I suspect the animators either hate Gear 5 or adore it

[buoyant summit]

Charisma Manip Appearance?

[knotty island]

Yep.

[limpid badge]

they're just using a very basic Resplendent Destiny Wandering Priestess of Venus (Struggling Actress) [Sex Worker]

[knotty island]

Yes, this fops is photogenic.

[buoyant summit]

Lunar oration charms are Charisma sad to say

<xD

[knotty island]

Weh.

[buoyant summit]

lol

[knotty island]

Actually no, the two we have are Appearance.

[merry arch]

throwing ragers for ghosts...

[velvet raft]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr8reTtElqc I swear there are like half again as many key frames during the sequences where Luffy is on screen as there are the rest of the time

[knotty island]

Which lean more into her no-nonsense bitchiness.

Glance-Oration Technique and Argument-Eclipsing Shadow.

[buoyant summit]

I think there's war leader stuff for Wits, but thats more like genuine battlefield knowledge

Not skill at exhortation

[knotty island]

Her wits are 5.

[buoyant summit]

Excellent

You might just keep up with the Sidereals in intrigue xD

Or at least be able to keep yourself abreast of it

[knotty island]

She has no time for political intrigue, but can dodge it.

The way she dodged it in the past is "I am the Grand Commandant. I don't care."

However this often got her throwing hands with the civil service.

[buoyant summit]

XD

Your civil service... associates/friends? now have time powers good luck xD

[knotty island]

Also, God, her major principle is "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right"

Notably, if she hadn't been swept up by the celestial scholar-officials, this would have had her posioned by nobles.

You may ask why she ends up poisoned. Because she was pro-peasantry.

[limpid badge]

an idea for a charm stuck in my head is stomping the ground so hard that the "camera" tilts and everyone else in the scene has to save vs knockdown

[coral wraith]

GM's social stats are 3/5/1 but with a bit of Sid hacking they use Intelligence to calc Appearance bonus dice

Which is 5 C:

[buoyant summit]

lmao

Is GM who ur gonna play in my game?

[limpid badge]

nah GM is hanging out in a game with BH

[buoyant summit]

Ahhhh

[coral wraith]

Welllll I could dual wield

xp

[buoyant summit]

lmao

[coral wraith]

i love our pbp but i really want to Do It Live

[velvet raft]

I know you've said you already have a full table but I just want to let you know how much whining I'm holding back, Rhi >_>

[buoyant summit]

I actually might request y'all dont double up on Exalts just to make things more interesting but idk if thats a viable thing or chill to ask

[buoyant summit]

@bleak hazel how stupid would letting gk in be cuz I'm new? XD

[dense verge]

i'd do it live if my spine wasnt being broken in half by work

[buoyant summit]

Full table is less 'literally too many people to handle in a group' and more 'I have been advised that three is plenty'

[coral wraith]

no i completely understand bees this is not me complaining

you're doing great

[dense verge]

yeye no worries

my main thing im still trying to work out is how combat can work with more than two people or people not pairing off into 1v1s in combat

[coral wraith]

oh that's gonna be complicated yeah

[dense verge]

because from all indications the combat system cannot comprehend a third person effectively

[buoyant summit]

I'm gonna pull a gk but ask directly if there are any empty seats at this pbp

[limpid badge]

i really would prefer we don't do things like that

[buoyant summit]

Fair sorry

[limpid badge]

strikethrough doesn't lessen things

[limpid badge]

i mean we can just split off into 1v1s in proper wuxia movie style

[velvet raft]

Yeah, tbc I understand that a full table is a full table

[knotty island]

Simple question erm, gk?

Oh.

[velvet raft]

I'm just in an excited-about-Exalted mood

[dense verge]

this is true but also, im trying to think of like, bosses, or armies, or such

[limpid badge]

oh true hrmn

[velvet raft]

And seeing everyone excited about their characters makes me excited and envious

[velvet raft]

What's up?

[dense verge]

the moment i throw two jeffs at someone, do they explode

[knotty island]

I was trying to ask what 'pulling a gk' means. Then you arrived and.. It makes a 8bit* more sense.

[velvet raft]

Oh, yeah

I'm a gacha character

[knotty island]

Also, I need to name Bǎihé's glaive.

[limpid badge]

damn,,,, the dreaded jeffs

[dense verge]

thankfully i am planning a calibration combat for me to get used to things

[velvet raft]

Unfortunately I'm only SR

So I don't usually make it onto meta squads

Tragic

[limpid badge]

what material is it? what kind of evocations do you imagine going with?

How does it fit into her legend?

cause like Bloody Hand's got The Black Blade of Sorrows which is very very simple, but we're building her out to Sanguine Waltz and damn if these aren't all Abyssal-Ass Artifacts

[knotty island]

It is..

The first of its kind, and it's fucking massive.

[limpid badge]

Who made it then?

[knotty island]

But, it's only significant because of her.

[limpid badge]

Okay but that's... not quite how artifacts work

Artifacts are legendary arms and armor, they have stories too, even the least of a Daiklaves has a legend worth telling and working into your own

So who made it, of what, and why? How did Baihe get it?

[dense verge]

well, artifacts get made some time right?

in the sense that there is at least one person out there what doing the crafting

some are old but got new ones at times as well

But there is a story

[limpid badge]

That's fair, but yeah, who made it? Is it brand new like that? What burgeoning legend's in it? What's the story!!!

[knotty island]

It was made by.. The master blacksmith who made the imperial palace guard's equipment, and she had specifically waited to find someone she knew would do her plan justice. It was replacing a fairly boring ji, and.. It's about 600 years old now.

[velvet raft]

If Baihe is an established general, it being made for Baihe in some highly significant way can itself be the story

But the big thing is that artifacts are all bespoke

[knotty island]

Oh yeah it's bespoke but..

[velvet raft]

They all have a story, they are all significant narratives unto themselves in some way

[knotty island]

What I mean is that the Green Dragon Crescent Blade is significant because it was Guan Yu's weapon?

That doesn't stop it having its own legend, of course, but that's how it's known.

[velvet raft]

Yeah, I mean ... a legendary smith 600 years ago creating a blade that was only finally put to the test recently is definitely something with potential, imo

[limpid badge]

Right, and that's something with weight and not "just important because an exalt touched it"

Baihe is burnishing the story back and forth between herself and the weapon, yeah~?

They are grand together!

[knotty island]

Exactly. If she was separated from it, it would cause concern. Where's her yanyuedao?

[velvet raft]

But like, what motivated the smith? What drives the creation of the artifact and interweaves with its legend? Is there anything about the construction that is itself special? Was the smith hanging around as a ghost, waiting for their chosen wielder?

[limpid badge]

Well that's why you get Blade-Summoning Gesture!!

[tulip folio]

Like for RiRi, her weapon is new and it's not a singular thing despite being an artefact but...it's still got history to it.

Resolute Hope
Orichalcum Razor Parasols

Seemingly thin batons, these weapons can generate a powerful energy shield that is the last remnants of the loyal alchemicals of Erlik. When the city fell to the blight, they rallied to evacuate the people. Maddened blight drones swarmed over them, buzzsaws and screeching scrapcode assaulting the defenders. Despite that, they stood resolute, channelling their essence into barricade generators. When the corrupted Colossi of the city assaulted them, the barricade shook...but each time it would shatter, a champion of the city pushed forward and breathed his full life into the one thing keeping the mortals evacuating safe. They held for an entire day before the last champion fell and the slaughter began once again.

It is unknown how many of these energy shields remain, taken by the grateful survivors of the city as talismans in worship of the champions who gave everything to save them. They can be found across Autocthonia, whenever the refugees of Erlik have fled.

[limpid badge]

lunars get a blade summoning gesture right

[buoyant summit]

I don't think we do, nah

[knotty island]

She ordered its construction when she was younger, much younger, about 200. But, it raises the question still of material. You don't make something that weighs 40lb out of normal steel for an exalt and like, the military hand of the Emperor, even if she is only 200.

gkathellar (he/him) ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) But like, what motivated the smith? What drives the creation of the artifact and interweaves with it…

[buoyant summit]

We get 'become the weapon' instead

As in like

[limpid badge]

how... old is? baihe? are they a starter lunar? going through reincarnations?

[buoyant summit]

Werewolf shi- we're lunars you get it

[knotty island]

She's like 800-900?

[limpid badge]

that's. elder lunar territory and not really "a starting character"

if the intention was to make a starting character

if not, go off queen

[buoyant summit]

Oh shit I forgot to tell them

[knotty island]

I seeeeeeeeee.

[merry arch]

squirrel's cunning technique -> many-pockets meditation is the closest you can get iirc

[buoyant summit]

Sorry guys, I forgor

[knotty island]

The way we dealt with this in the setting she's adapted from is that she was cursed and got stolen as an artefact that actually came alive and so now she's like 20 and an amnesiac.

But with reincarnation? That gives me an idea..

[limpid badge]

right, exalts reincarnate

so the guandao can be her previous incarnations weapon!

[limpid badge]

or like, a weapon of the First Age

[knotty island]

Yes! She grew up learning of her previous incarnation, determined to learn from her old self and follow in her footsteps, and this has left her swept up far from her home where her incarnation was.. And well, now she's going to try again.

delilah (she/it) ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) so the guandao can be her previous incarnations weapon!

[limpid badge]

oh, so like, raised among the various societies of the Hundred Rivers Project?

Rather than in the Realm or Threshold or the other Kingdoms

[knotty island]

Yeah. But she's far from there now, having set out.

[velvet raft]

The funny thing with Exalted reincarnation is that it's often an entirely separate reincarnation from the normal reincarnation that happens in Creation

Like, normally, souls go to the River Lethe, get cleaned up, and go back to become new people

[knotty island]

And so this young Bǎihé has it in her head that like..

[velvet raft]

So there's that

[knotty island]

She must measure up.

But in a determined way? Nobody expects her to.

[velvet raft]

But also, the Exaltation itself carries past-life memories

[knotty island]

But she has it in her head now, and she's too stubborn to not. She knows who she used to be, and.. She knows what that means.

[velvet raft]

So it's almost like you got a second past life

[prisma sun]

Yeah the weird thing about exalted reincarnations is that you aren't the same soul

You just had the previous guy shoved into you

[velvet raft]

And like, it's not really a separate entity

[knotty island]

I hope what I'm saying makes sense?

[velvet raft]

While you are exalted, the exaltation is well and truly you

[prisma sun]

Yeah

Its like adding a garage to your soul

[velvet raft]

But it's just kinda an interesting case of getting a past life that you weren't born with

[knotty island]

But yes, this implies that, young Bǎihé isn't famous yet? But when people see her with her yanyuedao, people.. Kind of see her as her previous self?

A platypus?

[limpid badge]

i mean, other lunars in the Silver Pact will

[knotty island]

Well yeah, not people out here, because her legend isn't known this far.

[limpid badge]

and some Realm Immaculates might know that an ancient foe has reincarnated

[velvet raft]

But also if she's a striking, regionally famous figure somewhere, people in that region might say, "oh wow she looks just like the legendary figure of old"

It seems like it has a lot of potential to me

[knotty island]

Yeah, that's.. That's how she's percieved before wielding the glaive but after exaltation.

[prisma sun]

Regular people probably wont care, most likely

You are you to them

But other magical beings might

[knotty island]

It's like "Oh, she looks like the legendary Guān Bǎihé!", but with the glaive, the legends feed into each other and it looks like the person she was before? I dunno, maybe it doesn't make sense.

[prisma sun]

A lot of immortals see reincarnating Exalts as the Same Guy again

[limpid badge]

Regular people will go "huh wow a wandering hero" until you start doing lunar things, and then they go "AAAAH ANATHEMA" or "oh dear exalt"

[velvet raft]

The Infernals draft notes that demons in particular do this, and because of this view they do not clean the Exaltations properly

Which makes the memories way more intense

[limpid badge]

i need to write up something proper for the Black Blade of Sorrows

but also i don't know how to quickly describe what it's built of because uuuh

somebody sharpened a hunk of tomb-shintai into a sword, that grows a scabbard like a scab

[prisma sun]

I gotta figure out what goremaul to give the drowner of saints

[knotty island]

But yeah.. So, name, material, and legend for the yaneyuedao.

[limpid badge]

Moonsilver?

Would be traditional

[knotty island]

Probably, yeah.

[limpid badge]

Moonsilver and steel

Or maybe moonsilver and jade-iron? hrmn hrmn hrmn

fucked up that you can alloy jade and steel in creation

[knotty island]

I like the idea of a moonsilver blade, but jade-iron decorations.

[prisma sun]

The Drowner of Saints will wield the Crater of Extinction

[knotty island]

Also, the fact that old her is dead, it lets the glaive hold a legend of worth?

[prisma sun]

A soulsteel meteorite formed from the corpse of a dead celestial thing

[knotty island]

Kind of in a sword in the stone way, but for a reincarnation.

Josie | System at 63 ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) Also, the fact that old her is dead, it lets the glaive hold a legend of worth?

[prisma sun]

Fuck man I gotta write stats into foundry ughhhhhhhh

[buoyant summit]

A lot of artifacts get passed around but nothing is stopping you from having the weapon possess a property that only Baihe's incarnations can wield it that a previous incarnation had put in place.

[velvet raft]

Getting a weapon owned by one's past incarnation is a fairly classic Exalted artifact setup, so you're in good company

[knotty island]

I imagine that like, others can use it, but it just isn't quite right?

It excudes a soft feeling of "Yeah, this is someone else using Bǎihé's legendary blade.", whereas the young Bǎihé wielding it, it feels like the two are reunited.

[buoyant summit]

lol ye

[limpid badge]

yeah that's normal for exalted

[knotty island]

A'ight, good good.

So it's made of moonsteel and jade-steel, we know this. It's also fucking huge but that's not unusual.

[limpid badge]

the only reason Bloody Hand is (pretty sure) the only one to use the Black Blade is because she found it in the fucking Labyrinth

and also that it kills everyone Living who touches it.

[velvet raft]

Like this is the backstory for a Sid four-dot artifact, just as a for-instance

[limpid badge]

(love that an Abyssal is Undead when its Useful)

[prisma sun]

Yeah the thing about having a cool sword as an exalted is that other Exalts will mug you for them

[knotty island]

But also like, a big thing of this is she is far from her legend.

[prisma sun]

And usually can just use it as good as you can

[knotty island]

Like, physically far away.

She's in a land that doesn't know who she is.

[limpid badge]

and yet, her weapon finds her....

isn't that romantic~?

[prisma sun]

Bloody Blade getting mugged by another Abyssal and she has to change her name

[knotty island]

No, she set out with it. Notably, it's only meant to be held by the Grand Commandant. She is not.

[velvet raft]

I should think about how Wise Songbird actually got Seven Star Alignment

[buoyant summit]

So she nicked it?

[knotty island]

Yes.

[velvet raft]

Oooh

[knotty island]

This is probably also why she's far away.

[buoyant summit]

l m a oooooooooooooo

[velvet raft]

Essence 2 😭

[tulip folio]

...that looks interesting. Kinda very expensive but interesting.

[velvet raft]

The gambits part is what stands out to me

[prisma sun]

Disarm via Marilyn Monroe shot

[velvet raft]

I think it’s still probably overcosted, but

[knotty island]

P-.. Pardon?!

Voy the Nelson Boy ↩️

[Reply to:](#1161699000836165714 message) Disarm via Marilyn Monroe shot

[prisma sun]

Marilyn Monroe + Vent On New York Street

[knotty island]

I know, I'm just. Shocked.

I figured out the name, and I love it.
照耀天下的偃月刀 - The Glaive That Illuminates All Under Heaven

[velvet raft]

There's never been any clarification on what learning additional Shaping Rituals looks like, right?

[prisma sun]

Training montage

[velvet raft]

Right, about what I thought

Unrelated: I love the Bureau of Seasons

Best heavenly bureau, 10/10, no notes

Huuuuuh that seems pretty great :D

Really, there are a lot of sick Presence 2-3 charms

[prisma sun]

Every sid tree is sick imo

[velvet raft]

Yeah, every time I open up the sids charm list I find new things to like

[velvet raft]

Tragic: idiot theorycrafter is constantly tempted to just switch to Endings

[buoyant summit]

wait the wind can do all gambits

Including grapple?

[velvet raft]

I think since it says "all manner of gambits" probably not

But ultimately up to interpretation, I suppose

[buoyant summit]

grapple is a manner of gambit xD

And I can see it working to do that

As a Storyteller I'd probably make it slightly higher diff since it's a grapple that then leaves your actual self free to do whatever

[tulip folio]

I mean, I'd be okay with having a guy get twirled about in a tornado for a bit

[velvet raft]

Yeah, true

It would be a perfect Divine Heritage charm except that it's Essence 2 😔

[buoyant summit]

Green Scales as Lilies in the Sun sounds like a Wood Deeb, right?

[chilly sluice]

What culture are they from?
But that does definitely work

[buoyant summit]

They're an outcaste in Halta, likely a local since they're a priest of the religion

[velvet raft]

Seems reasonable

Realm and Lookshy people are the big group who tend not to have Word Names

[chilly sluice]

Dynasts tend to just have regular names, yeah

[prisma sun]

Well no

Immaculates always have word names

But most of Creation have regular names

[velvet raft]

Most of Creation has regular names, it's just that regular names includes word names :P

And yeah, people from all over have all kinds of names

The Shogunate remnants in particular tend not to

[buoyant summit]

Well I like word names xD

[velvet raft]

Me too

It’s also just what names are

If a name doesn’t seem like a word IRL that just means it’s untranslated

[buoyant summit]

Also I'm not foolish when potentially taking inspo from KSBD for stuff right?

[buoyant summit]

I assume this means it is quite shiny

[velvet raft]

K6BD is explicitly mentioned as an inspiration in the Infernals draft

[buoyant summit]

Fucking ballin

Which, having asked Tom about his opinion of Exalted yesterday in a hangout, is extremely funny as well

[mighty rover]

oho?

[velvet raft]

I take it not so positive?

[buoyant summit]

He did not have a good impression upon reading it and thus has never played it lol

And on reflection I sorta get it, Exalted is a lot more crunchy than I think he'd wanna get in his own design or play

But anyways

Glad I am not foolish for taking inspo from KSBD xD

I think I'm gonna make this deeb a sorcerer...

feels appropriate for the institutional rival of my Lunar Violence Machine

[velvet raft]

Maybe this has changed with Cain, but in and prior to Icon, Tom has also expressed a general distaste for Exalted’s kind of extreme simulation engine

[buoyant summit]

Shame Occult isn't favored by Wood Aspects

[prisma sun]

Also sidereals

[velvet raft]

Makes sense

one more reason Infernals are the foils to Sids

[buoyant summit]

But I still want my Deeb to be very nature flavored (I know they all are but also the game is taking place in a giant evergreen forest of firs, birch, and redwoods)

Also I mean yeah Jadis just

is a Sidereal

[merry arch]

ksbd is also shouted in essence as recommended reading

[buoyant summit]

Her moment of Exaltation just Went Wrong xD

[mighty rover]

cain is not a simulation engine

[velvet raft]

What I meant was that I don’t know

Having never read Cain

I have not really kept up with Tom’s ttrpg opinions since Icon, which I have issues with directly related to his stated opinions at the time

But not liking Exalted tracks with what I knew

[buoyant summit]

Anyways, what's a good sorcery track for a Deeb Priest?

[velvet raft]

Depends, but IIRC there is a wood-elemental focused one in either Lunars or MFS

So if you’re going hard on Nature, that could be plausible

[buoyant summit]

Oh it'd be so funny if he primarily knows Lunar sorcery

[fierce star]

ther'es both a plant and animal based one in the lunars books

well those aren't like

[buoyant summit]

And his primary rival is a fucking Lunar

[fierce star]

'this is only a lunar sorcery'

[buoyant summit]

Fair

It's in the Lunar book cuz it's commonly practiced by Lunars but not exclusive I assume

[fierce star]

also: eeee I got art from the talented @sinful cave, behold the smuggest adamant caste doctor https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1218206496182108302/1441632565654982676/ikiryo_iteration_drive_ecstatic_iatrochemical_responder_Comm.jpg?ex=69232933&is=6921d7b3&hm=723b52f36fe699e52d09ba3d74e7d0ff92a9544c9bb5f3bda65c091711f21333&

[velvet raft]

And it fits the imagery

[fierce star]

(with bonus riri to scale)

[buoyant summit]

lol nice

[buoyant summit]

Also wait is RiRi smol or Iatrochemical tol? XD

[chilly sluice]

I'm gonna guess both

[fierce star]

Both :D

[buoyant summit]

lmao

[fierce star]

riri i slike 150cm and responder's close to 200

[buoyant summit]

lmao

SQ is quite large, befitting a Lunar never not in Hybrid Shape

I think she's about 230 cm?

If my conversion is correct from feet?

[tulip folio]

RiRi is tiny. Which is funny as she's also an absolute tank.

[buoyant summit]

lmao

Sorcerer stats be like

[ruby geyser]

Smh not maxing str and stam so you can just get heavy artifact armor and not worry about dodging

[buoyant summit]

Fighting? In melee?

He has People For That™

The fuck are Forest Witches???

[wise ocean]

Witches wot live in the forest

[fierce star]

Forest Witches are... a thing?

you'd like the fae would be involved, but no, it's solar fuckery all the way down

[buoyant summit]

I ask cuz Deebs gain additional specialties related to House, some other stuff

or Forest Witches

[fierce star]

they're a sect of deebs from the east who live in dreams and some of them reincarnate (including exaltation) all the time

they're 8weird*

[buoyant summit]

Should I make this guy a Forest Witch?

They are in Halta

[fierce star]

Are they an NPC or a PC

[buoyant summit]

NPC

[fierce star]

then feel free, just... read up on those sections in the DB books

it's a lot

[velvet raft]

Let me put it this way

Do you know Jenna Moran?

Nobilis, Glitch, Chuubo’s?

The Forest Witches are her creation.

From way back in 1E

[buoyant summit]

I do not know Jenna Moran

And by Glitch do you mean like

Glitch Studios?

[velvet raft]

Naw

[buoyant summit]

Okay I assumed you didn't

[velvet raft]

If you did know her it would explain a lot >_>

[buoyant summit]

?

About... me?

Or the Forest Witches xD

[velvet raft]

Forest Witches

[buoyant summit]

lol

Would a Prasadi being in Halta make sense?

[prisma sun]

Where is Halta

[buoyant summit]

The Northeast I think?

yep, the Northeast

[velvet raft]

Wasn't it more straight east?

[buoyant summit]

Well, in the Eight Directions book they're under the Northeast

[velvet raft]

Halta has monkey people and talking animals and such

[buoyant summit]

They are quote 'East of the Silver River lowlands'

[velvet raft]

Huh, I guess I always had them in my head as like

The embodiment of the East

[buoyant summit]

I mean idfk I'm new to this setting xD

Anyhow, would a Prasadi in a region of Halta make sense xD

[velvet raft]

It could

Exalts can range pretty far pretty quick

[buoyant summit]

fair, but he'd be there as an envoy to encourage trade or something

[velvet raft]

If there's a reason for them to be there, they could probably get there

There could be some specialized Haltan good that Prasad wants

[buoyant summit]

I guess I'm really asking 'is a trade relationship between Halta and Prasad not a laughable idea'

[velvet raft]

No

It might be difficult and require complicated logistics

Depending on the means of doing it available

But the Dreaming Sea region is pretty prosperous, I suspect they could figure it out

[buoyant summit]

Nice

And of course since I'd be making him a priest he'd preach about the Pure Way, in an attempt to get the Exalted council of the region of Halta they want to trade with to buy in

[velvet raft]

Hm what an interesting ch-

Wait