Cityverse: Magic, In Depth

So I was doing some thinking about how magic works in the City (and I would believe in the rest of the world the City exists in) and I may as well get things fleshed out here.

Info under the cut!

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I already covered the two types of Magic: Radiation and Inheritance. This should all be straightforward. But different types of magic (element, mind, spirit, fae, etc) work differently. So while you may have two adepts, aside from the magic they wield the way they wield it may also be very different.

Note: This mostly applies only to Adepts as Talents do not usually possess enough power to ‘wield’ in the strictest sense.

So the easiest place to start would be Elemental magic. Stuff like fire, water, wood, air, and earth make up this particular section. Light and shadow also fit into this category. Practitioners of elemental magic will tell you their magic comes from a connection to their element; and whether it’s a mutation from the abilities themselves I’m not sure, but they tend to look the part.

Dulcie, for example, is a fire adept with orange hair. Brittany is a water adept who actually has a set of gills. These sorts of things aren’t uncommon, but it isn’t unheard of for an adept not to show any physical traits of their magic either.

Now, because of their magic’s tactile nature, these elemental magics are typically tied to body movements. For some, this resembles bending. Some adepts even learn a martial art associated with their abilities to better control them. Dulcie, as our example, does not practice in such a way, but her powers are subconsciously tied to her emotions. An angry Dulcie will clench her fists and set herself on fire. A sick Dulcie might start sneezing flames. She’s young and has little control.

That’s what all of this is about though, control. Elemental Adepts believe they can better control their abilities through movement. This is merely a training of the subconscious though; an exercise of will. Truly enlightened adepts know that, even completely bound, they can manipulate their element with a clear head.

This brings up a key fact: wield-able magic requires focus. Dulcie, who lacks focus, tends to set things on fire by accident because she has no control. Her abilities jump out on a whim because she doesn’t try to control them. An angry shadow adept with the same issue might blacken entire buildings in inky darkness, simply because their minds are clouded. Within the City, problems like this are often tackled by quick response teams of better trained individuals, and by teaching these young adepts control.

So what about non-elemental magic users?

Well this depends. If a person doesn’t share the same internal connection to their ability, they will still have problems controlling it. In many cases, adepts with this issue turn to what is known as a Focus. A Focus, is any item through which once may channel their powers. In many works of fictions these function in the form of wands, or orbs, or even books. Some people get more creative. A telekinetic adept might use a puppet to better grasp how he wants to move things. Nolan, an oddball adept with control over ink, has tattoos on his arms that he uses to help direct control with his hands. A technomancer with a love of Doctor Who, might use a model sonic screwdriver. A focus is often personal. The issue is, if the focus becomes lost of broken, the user has difficulty using their magic. This is because in their head: it means their magic is also broken.

There are, of course, inherently magical objects. These objects are constructed by magic users higher on the scale then an Adept. They may also contain materials forged from the pools of magic ((a skill which very few possess)). The only current device of this nature that I have in the world is Pandora’s Box. This small, odd looking box is tied to the soul of the pixie, Pandora. Whoever opens the box, releasing her, is her master until the box is once more closed; pulling Pandora inside, or until the master’s death. In that event, Pandora is free from a master until another such box event occurs. Destroying the box would remove Pandora from existence, sending her energy back to the world of the fae.

The last thing I want to touch on is Witches. Witches are not (usually) adepts, but they are not sorcerers either. Witches are magic users who, while they may not have any powers of their own, can borrow the powers of nearby users temporarily. Witches always require a focus to do this, as they are channeling abilities that aren’t inherently theirs. How far away a witch may borrow powers is tied to how strong the witch is. Very weak witches must be touching another user to borrow their powers. An extremely powerful witch might be mistaken for some sort of God or Sorceress due to the amount and different types of power they can wield.

That’s it for now. If you have any questions feel free to ask. I love talking about this stuff and you might bring up things I hadn’t thought of. Until next time!

Cityverse: Maid Marian

Let’s shift gears and talk about the City’s newest resident: Marian Cypress AKA Cynis Mayumi.

Marian may have purple hair, but that’s where her similarities with Kiki end. More about this sweet little vixen under the cut!

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Marian’s original universe is Exalted, where she is a dynast who has fallen to an unfortunate destiny. After not exalting as a dragonblood, she is basically deemed useless by her family and is to be married off for political reasons. This hurts Marian, who has tried her whole life to be the perfect child. She runs away, staging a kidnapping, and almost makes it to a ship off the Blessed Isle when she discovers an old friend has been imprisoned because they think he had something to do with the affair. Marian breaks him free against the odds, only to Exalt as a solar, the worst thing that could happen amongst members of the Realm. Marian escapes, but keeps her identity hidden away, even from the party of other solars that she meets up with. And that is where her story truly begins.

In the City, Marian is the owner of a major corporation that was given to her by her father. She lives in a fancy house and drives a fancy car and wears only the best fashions. She is married to Gaberiel, another Exalted character created by my lovely fiance, but often is seen with her secretary Hana. Everyone knows the woman is involved with both people, but no one speaks up as she holds a lot of power within the city and Gabe doesn’t seem to mind.

Marian is a major contributor to many charities and social events in the city including Shakespeare in the park and the Boys and Girls Club. Contrary to popular belief, this is not to improve her standing in the eyes of the City, but rather to truly help it. She has an easily moved heart that loves nothing more than to help others.

At one point, she loses her riches to her younger sister and finds work at the local smoothie joint, which is in a sorry state of affairs. Using her business knowledge Marian makes the shop successful and challenges her sister for ownership of her old company.

As far as magic goes, Marian is completely normal with the exception of peculiar hair colors (Deep purple with blue streaks in the bangs). The hair color is genetic, but only because her grandparents had received the mutation from magical radiation.

I feel like this girl seems too good to be true so I’m going to end this by settling a few things. One, Marian could easily be considered a Nymphomaniac and has a gambling problem. Her gambling tends to lean more on surety of skill rather than chance. For example, she would challenge you to a game of chess and bet on herself to win. Or, she would go to a fight and bet on the fighter with a better set of skills ((Of course, if she finds out later that she lost due to rigged fighting she’ll make you pay)). Two, Marian is incredibly insecure. To Marian’s father, his business was a side project that he gave to her because it was the least he could give her. Marian spent her whole life trying to be perfect, and her family always wanted more out of her. Her perfection comes from trying hard to please everyone, and it is a drain on her. She doesn’t really know who she is and is ashamed of some of the things she truly loves to do like Embroidery and Calligraphy because there is no profit in that. If you tell her she’s anything less than perfect and why, she will work at that aspect until she is flawless. She’s afraid. She hates this persona that she carries around…but she’s too afraid to let it go. Three, the girl has no survivability. Without common comforts, she would be sunk. Don’t take her camping.

adennotrolls:

nyehehehehhee

>You can’t help but laugh at her, it was kinda cute.

saigh saigh

>Pick up another one yourself and skip it across the stream, this time a little bit lighter than last time.

it took me bit ta figir…giru…get it

> Sigh, half from relief, half from disappointment

OhGoodness…

> Give it another shot, ease up on the power

> The stone skips once then makes a satisfying plonk into the water

Hahaha!
Hahahahahaha! Eeeeehehehehe!
Ohitworkeditworkedohgoodnesslookitworkedhahahahaha!

> You jump for joy and slip on the pile of stones, crashing to the ground. It smarts, but you’re still laughing

Let’s Talk About Exalted!

While my girlfriend works on her addition to LTAE ((focusing on her favorite Exalts: The Infernals)) I may as well continue with more basic information.

As always, long post ahead so check under the cut for today’s topic: Stats!

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Like any RPG, Exalted requires stats that represent a character’s strengths and weaknesses. Unlike other RPGs Exalted runs on a scale of 1 to 5 with exponential growth ((technically it’s 1 to 10 but we’ll save that detail for later)).

An important thing to keep in mind is that EVERYONE in creation, from bees to Gods have these skills and attributes, so they’re an important concept.

Attributes: How Life Has Shaped Us

What kind of character is your character? Typically we might say they would fall into one of three categories: Physically Capable, Mentally Sharp, or Socially Sophisticated. Exalted groups its attributes in this way. Since it’s easier to do this work with numbers, we’ll be using Solar beginning character limits in order to set this up.

Each character has dots (the form of measurement of any stat) in all three categories. Furthermore, every attribute already begins with a single dot, as, in most cases, any less would lead to the character’s death.

So first, we have to pick our strongest category. Sherwood, my Example Solar, is strongest physically. This means he has more dots to put into physical attributes. Next, you should think about where your character is weakest. Sherwood isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed and can be rather oblivious; his weak point is Mental stats.

Now that we’ve generalized our character’s strengths and weaknesses, we can start placing dots. Each category has three attributes:

Physical
– Strength: The ability to lift or hit things with great force
– Dexterity: Flexibility and Swift movements
– Stamina: Physical Endurance ~~bow chicka bow wow~~

Social
– Charisma: The was you carry yourself/your ability to speak eloquently
– Manipulation: Your ability to lie either by falsifying information or omitting it
– Appearance: How totally hot you are

Mental
– Perception: Your ability to notice fine details
– Intelligence: Book smarts
– Wits: Street smarts/reaction time to events around you

In out strongest category we get 8 dots, for our middle we get 6, and for our weakest we get 4.

But how do I know how many dots to give? On a scale of 1 to 5 it’s actually pretty simple. One means you’re weak in that area. Tabor Hazard, my Sidereal, has one Strength; this means he has a tough time handling heavy objects and does very little for damage in battle.
Two dots is average. Most of us would prolly have 2 dots of strength. Not bad for mortals, but low for the average Exalt.
Three dots is impressive. If drawing were an attribute most of you would have 3 dots.
Four dots is amazing. Indiana Jones prolly has 4 dots in Dex.
Five dots is the best any mortal can achieve. Five dots is mind blowing. Five dots is the ability to shoot an arrow at a hawk holding a mouse and removing the mouse from it’s clutches without harming either animal.

Yikes that was a lot did you get all that? I hope so. Okay hold onto your hats we have one last thing to cover this episode.

Abilities: How We Have Shaped Our Lives

So we learned at the end of last episode that every type of Exalt has five castes with the exception of Lunars because Lunars are weird and we’re not going to worry about them right now.
Each of those caste’s has 5 associated abilities, which varies by Exalt. In your character’s caste, they will learn caste abilities easier than non caste abilities. Aside from those, you also get a number of favored abilities that work the same way. This way if a certain caste fits your character’s personality, but has abilities that don’t fit your character’s skill set you can make up for that. I’m not going to list caste associations here, but the abilities are as follows:

– Archery: Skill at firing ranged weapons such as bows, guns, and canon
– Athletics: General skill used for physical abilities. Climbing, feats of strength, and acrobatics are good examples
– Awareness: How well one senses and reacts to their surroundings
– Bureaucracy: The dealings of laws, business, and official regulations. A social skill.
– Craft (category): The ability to make things. There are different categories of craft that cover different things.
– Dodge: The ability to avoid incoming danger
– Integrity: Used for Social Defense. Ones ability to avoid mental influence
– Investigation: searching for information. Navigating a library uses this skill.
– Larceny: Stealing things! Making Disguises! Picking locks!
– Lore: General and world knowledge. One Lore is required to be literate.
– Martial Arts: This…kind of speaks for itself…
– Medicine: Healing people, diagnosing disease or injury, sealing your own wounds. An Exalt with at least one Medicine can Will their wounds shut to prevent bleeding out.
– Melee: Hitting people with weapons or objects
– Occult: Knowledge of magical things such as the Fae or Demons or the Undead. Also required to cast spells
– Performance: Social attack skill that targets many people at once. Singing, acting, or dancing often use this skill.
– Presence: Social attack skill that targets a single person. Persuasion, lying, intimidation, or making friends can use this
– Resistance: Handling damage or poison
– Ride: Riding horses or other beasts of burden
– Sail: Operating a ship out at sea
– Socialize: The ability to discern the motivations or feelings of others. Likewise, the ability to conceal your own emotions and motivations.
– Stealth: The ability to hide yourself, objects, and other people. Also the ability to perform actions quietly or cover your tracks
– Survival: The ability to use nature to your advantage. Hunting, tracking, or knowledge of the wilderness fit here.
– Thrown: How adept one is at short ranged weaponry such as shuriken, kunai, or even a lasso.
– War: Leadership in mass combat. Also influences skill at strategy games like chess.

That’s all of them. Big list huh? Most people and Exalts tend to be good in a few skills. No character I’ve ever made is good at all of them….((Marian is good at all but 3 but she has reasons for that))

Anyway, you get so many points to spend through all of those skills, which begs the question: DO you generalize your character and make them okay at a lot of things? Or do you put your points into three or four skills and are really good at them? It depends.

That’s a lot to digest, so I’ll leave you with those questions. Stay tuned for GreenSunPrincess’ episode about Infernals, and my next installment on Backgrounds and Advantages to help further your character’s lives. Toodles!

At the end of the first age the Sidereals had succeeded in ‘Saving’ creation by placing the Dragonbloods in charge and eliminating the Solar Exalts from the world. A single Sidereal held a dying exalt in her arms and tied her ribbon to the mast of their ship. That night she opened her eyes and peered into the loom of fate before fading from Creation.

Years later, Kinder Alicen was taken as a child to the schools of Yu-Shan, for she was destined to Exalt and needed to be taught the ways by with each Sidereal learns. During her studies a ribbon fell into her hands and Kinder knew she could no longer live under the way of the Sidereals. She fled to the west of Creation, to a marooned vessel where her life as a student ended; and her life as a Chosen of Endings began.

Hiding between strands of fate Kinder allied herself with who she could get to remember her, and with a mythical beast by her side made her way to the beaches of the mainland. And end was coming, she could feel it, and she would be the one to usher it in.

Kinder, while pretty, could easily be viewed as weak. However, her strength is carried in her words and her fighting is as fierce as any other; particularly on night of the full moon, where her Ancestor’s sorrow rips apart her soul and drives her to madness.

Kinder’s charm set are as follows:- Absence: Kinder can remove any penalties while dodging an enemy
– Blinding the Boar: Kinder can make herself difficult to focus on or even notice. Her words become garbled, her appearance indescribable, and her actions hard to decipher.
– Duck Fate: Kinder can pull aside the strings of fate to avoid harm, as though said harm was never intended for her
– First Presence Excellency: For each mote spent, up to essence motes, one die may be added to any presence roll

Kinder’s other charms exist as traits of her Martial arts form:Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style
Martial artists who learn the Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style become consummate performers with charisma and grace to spare, and they can be as elusive as dreams. They wield desires like swords, and the masters can become things out of nightmare. The style emphasizes finesse and subtle manipulation rather than brute power… –Scroll of the Monk, Exalted p.88

Let’s Talk About Exalted!

Part two: Exalted Basics

In this installment of LTAE I’m going further in depth in regards to the different major character types that exist in the world of Creation. We’ll cover Exalted’s equivalent of classes, power levels, a glance over the basics of the different types of Exalts in creation.
This should help you figure out how to start acclimating your characters into an Exalted AU…or maybe inspire something new? Who knows.

Lost? Check out the first post here!

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So where do we start?

The first thing to remember is that while the focus of a typical Exalted campaign falls upon the Exalts, Creation is vast. In the first age there were many races, but in the third age it appears that whats left in the world are:
Humans
Minikin ((Reference on right of image))
Beastmen ((See the badgerman))
God/Demonbloods
That’s the playable list. There are also elementals, gods, ghosts, demons, and zombies; but they cannot exalt.
Of course, if you remember from the previous topic, there are a limited number of Exaltations. Those who do not Exalt are simply mortals, and while a mortal will never be an Exalt in terms of power, a Heroic Mortal is still a force to be reckoned with.

Choosing your Chosen one

So you want to be an Exalt….wait have I said that before?
Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS! You have been granted incredible power and responsibility beyond your wildest dreams! But just what have you gotten yourself into? Well that depends on what exaltation you received!

Have you faced impossible odds and succeeded?
This could mean anything from battling your way through an army single-handedly, teaching yourself something long forgotten despite being told you could never succeed, infiltrating the highest guarded establishment in the east, or even managing to talk your way into marrying the richest woman in town as a commoner. The point is, you did something fantastic enough to warrant the attention of a Solar Exaltation. You are now framed by your success and blessed by the light of the sun. By Yu-shan’s laws, you are always in the right, and it is your job to reclaim your place as Creation’s great defender. Solars are decorated in gold and warm colors.

Have you faced tribulation and adapted to survive?
This often occurs when a person has to face the harness of nature. A sailor who manages to survive a shipwreck out of craft. A slave who makes their way to freedom by telling their captors exactly what they want to hear while they pull a set of hidden strings. If this is the case, then Luna has smiled upon you personally, inviting you to the world that is the Lunar Exaltation. Bonded with and animal resembling your spirit, you are now further connected to Creation. You can transform into your animal, or hunt others to shapeshift into. You can even gather your strength and spirit to become a mighty beast of war. In case I didn’t make this obvious enough: you now have some sort of “tell”. Something that if someone looks at you hard enough would notice: Hey…that’s weird. Common tells are the ears or tail of the animal, feathers in your hair (for birds), scaled skin, weird eyes/tongues, etc. It’s your job to protect Creation, and seek your Solar mate ((More on that in another section)). Lunars are decorated in silver.

Have you faced impossible odds and failed spectacularly?
Perhaps you commanded a squad of men into battle, only to watch them all die. I honestly don’t have a lot of examples for this one. The point is that you failed, but survived. Ashamed by your failures you are offered another chance to succeed. A chance for greatness. You’ve agreed, gone to Hell, and suffered something terrible. In return you are greater, and determined never again to fail. You have become an Infernal. While similar to Solars, since their origins are the same, you are twisted. You are tied to the Yozis and have the urge to do terrible things. You summon demons and steal the essence from gods. Your job is to assist your Yozi masters in their return to Creation. Infernals tend to decorate in greens and bronze.

Have you died, and yet…do not wish to die?
As death crept upon you you silently wished to keep living. Whispers came to your ears, offering to fulfill your wish if only you will serve them. You agree. Your hair turns black and your body cold. You are dead, and yet you are alive. You are brought before a lord to be taught, a terrible dark master in control of land in the underworld. You learn that your duty is to destroy all life in creation, and that to protect any life shall bring punishment upon you. You even give up your name. You are an Abyssal. You are given a title, something along the lines of Maiden of the Mirthless Smile, or Vengeance Clad in a Cloak of Black Feathers*. You are the twisted Solar, turned to darkness…and yet that means there is a Spark of light still within you. Abyssals typically wear blacks and dark colors.

*No one will ever refer you you by this title. They will think of a simple nickname and you will always hate them for it. My favorite Abyssal is referred to as Stabby. That isn’t even close to her title.

Have you done absolutely nothing?
This actually leaves us with two options.

Were you chosen as a child to go to an elite school for mysterious reasons?
Settle down for several boring years and tons of unanswered questions. You are a Sidereal. Chosen by one of the five maidens, you are going to exalt…someday. Until then you will learn everything you need and be acclimated into the bureaucratic world that is Yu-Shan. You will learn that you have basically been picked as a politician of Creation. However, your true duties depend on your maiden. Chosen of Jouneys, the lady Mercury, are in charge of making sure everyone and everything gets where it needs to go. Letters need to be sent, and armies need to reach the battlefields. Chosen of Serenity, the Lady Venus, are charged with matters of peace and love. Making sure lovers find each other, that there is a positive aftermath to war. Chosen of Battles, the lady Mars, are in charge of conflict. Battles need to be fought, wars need to be waged. Chosen of Secrets, Lady Jupiter, are in charge of finding and keeping the secrets of creation. They are the spies and librarians, and the silencers of blabbermouths. Finally, Chosen of Endings, Lady Saturn, are tasked with the dirty-work. They are assassins, the man who ends the war, the friend who breaks up your relationship because you’re blinded by love and he’s just not good for you. Each maiden’s Sidereal tends to decorate in their maiden’s color, Yellow, Blue, Red, Green, or Purple.

Done nothing but were born into a rich family?
Well the rich family might not be a prerequisite all the time, the last category is Dragonbloods. If you are a Dragonblood, someone in your family line was also a Dragonblood. You are associated with one of the five elements: Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, or Air. You can also pretty much do whatever you want because you’re in charge of Creation. Dragonbloods are complicated, so we’ll get into them in another section.

Phew. That was exhausting. As an important note: keep in mind there is the occasional oddball exaltation. Something that doesn’t make sense at first glance….but the loom of fate works in mysterious ways.

But wait! There’s more!

I commend anyone who has gotten this far. Unless you skipped all of that. I don’t blame you. There’s just a few notes I want to cover here before we go.

Every type of Exaltation has five “classes” or Castes. Sidreal’s are divided by maiden, Dragonblood by element. Solars, and Solar derivatives have classes that reflect the different position of the sun in the sky. Lunars had five at one point, but now only have three…and they’re a special case, so stay tuned for them.

Why is this important? Because each caste favors a set of five skills. Those skills will be easier for the Exalt to learn. Often times it’s easier to determine what caste a character will be by the skills you know they’ll be good at rather than trying to figure out how to set your skills based on a random caste you picked. That’s just food for thought.

That covers the absolute basics. Thanks again for any interest you’ve shown.

Let’s Talk About Exalted!

What is Exalted?
Exalted is a tabletop roleplaying universe published by White Wolf. It is very different from the more well known Dungeons and Dragons (DnD) in both game mechanics, and in typical setting. For example, while DnD tends to be based with Tolkien style fantasy in a medieval Europe-esque play area, Exalted tends to carry more of a feudalistic Asian inspired theme with the only real non-human races being beastmen and small bald people called minikin.

Why do you want to talk about it?
Exalted is a beautiful universe with a lot of potential that many people don’t know about. It’s a wonderful place to put AUs for many types of character without defaulting to a ‘traditional’ medieval setting. Furthermore, it’s something that really pulled my girlfriend and I together and so I just want to share it with everyone.

Still interested? I have more under the cut.

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Let’s Elaborate on Setting
Bear with me. While this looks like a lot of information I am really only giving you very little of what we know about the universe. The game books are all thick and have a ton of content.

Long ago, before there was much of anything, there was the Wyld. There, the songs of chaos and the unmade flowed; when from the chaos awakened something, the first primordial, and with her awakening the idea that one could awaken became a truth. From that point, many other awakened and brought many other truths into existence from the chaos that was the Wyld. They made the land and the sea, islands and mountains. This land fell under the name of Creation, and was eventually held within the body of the youngest Primordial: Gaia. To watch over this world while the Primordials played their games, they created Gods to serve and watch the land. The Gods were forbidden from harming Primordials.
Gods ranged in rank from categories like God of Axes, to God of a particular person’s axe. The most important Gods became Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun; Luna, the Goddess of the Moon; and 5 mysterious maidens whom no one quite recalled their origin.
To serve the gods, humans and other creatures were created as slaves.
Things were well, but over time the Gods began to want for the games of the Primordials. They knew they could not harm them, but the humans had potential. They created secondary souls, Exaltations, and filled them with great power. The Unconquered Sun and Luna each took 300, while the Maidens divided 100 between them. Humans were picked for various reasons.
Solars were those who faced impossible odds, and yet still managed to succeed. They would become the generals of war, the leaders of a new age.
Lunars were those who, when faced with tribulation, learned to adapt to their situation. Their bodies gained attributes of a spirit animal, and it was their duty to serve as protectors of their Solar mates.
The Maiden’s chosen, Sidereals, were always predetermined by fate for reasons often unknown to all but the Maiden Jupiter, whose secrets she will never reveal. They were to be the Viziers, using fate to guide the others in the right direction.
Of course, there was one more set of Exaltations. Gaia became aware of an impending war, but did not seek to intervene for she, while Primordial, was in love with Luna. Instead, she allowed her souls, 5 elemental dragons, to seek and choose who they saw worthy to imbue with one of their five elements. These chosen, the Dragonblood, would become the footsoldiers of the impending war.

And so war happened.

The Exalts were successful. Those Primordials that did not die, surrendered. These remaining Primordials were banished from Creation into a prison torn into the body of Malfeas, contained by the laws of the Primordial Cecelyne. However, they left the Exalts with a great curse; one that would drive them to madness in time. The only Primordial that did not suffer one of these fates, was Gaia.

Thus dawned the first age. The Solars ruled Creation with the Lunars at their side. The Dragonbloods (the only exalts that could pass exaltation through breeding) divided into houses that served each solar. There was advancement in technology, a golden age broken only by bouts with the wyld at Creation’s edges, forever seeking to reclaim the land to its chaos.
But such peace cannot last forever.
The Gods began to play, and quickly became obsessed with the Games of Divinity. Such is why the Exalts had come to truly rule. Up in Yu-shan, where the Gods play, the Sidereals continued their duties of watching the loom of fate, and guiding the others…until something was seen that posed a danger to all of Creation.

It came to the Sidereal’s attention that something was very wrong with the Solars. Gripped by emotion, the chosen of the Sun were going to destroy everything. The Sidreals had three options: One, allow things to proceed as they were; two, try to change the path and fix the Solars; or three, kill the chosen of the sun and seal their exaltations away.
Option one would have meant certain disaster.
Option two might have worked, but in the end it was decided that the risk of failure was too high.
And so they chose option three.

The sidereals worked quietly, planting seeds of doubt into the minds and hearts of the Dragonbloods, turning the armies against their generals. In time, another war waged. The Solars were defeated. Those surviving Lunars fled. The Solar Exaltations were sealed in a prison of Jade and dropped to the bottom of the sea, and the Sidereals hid themselves within the fates, ashamed of what they had done.

Without the chosen of the Sun to Guide them, the Dragonbloods took charge, but they could not hold the heavy weight that was Creation. The Wyld reclaimed much of the land. A sickness fell over the people. Everything was falling apart until one woman stood up and seized control. Her name became the Scarlet Empress, and she began the dawn of the Third Age.

While they could not reclaim what they had lost, with the Empress in charge the Dragonbloods held off the fury that was the wyld. She gave birth to eleven children who would form the great houses of the Realm. The Realm would seize control over creation, and over those few Dragonbloods who did not agree with its reign.

But trouble was stirring. The empress disappeared. Agents of the banished Primordials, the Yozis, found the Jade Prison. Together with the help of the Neverborn, those souls of the dead Primordials, they broke open the Jade Prison. Due to the power of the Solar Exaltations, the two groups were only able to catch a fraction of what had been inside. The rest were released back into Creation; to find the souls worthy of new Solars.

The Yozi corrupted their new Exaltations with Demonic powers. These twisted chosen now each served under a Yozi, damned to do their bidding…chosen by bitterness at failing their impossible odds. Their job is to find a way to let the Yozis escape back into Creation. To reclaim it as their own once more.
The Neverborn corrupted their Exaltations with death and the void. They took the dying and sent their whispers, offering new life in service to the Neverborn. Each new Death Knight would be tied to a Lord, a spirit of a fallen Solar given greater power by the Neverborn, and commanded to cross the lands of Creation and see it destroyed.

This is where we stand now. New Solars have awakened on the lands of Creation, some carrying memories of their former lives. The Sidereals stand, bickering in Yu-Shan, divided over what new actions to take. The Dragonbloods seek to once more rid the world of Anathema, if they can decide what to do about their empty throne. Lunars are awakening with their Solar bretheren and seeking their long lost mates, trying to make sense of their own lives. The Infernals are searching for the metaphorical keys to creation, to let in the demons and reclaim the land for their lords. Shadowlands are growing from the death and destruction across the world…and the Abyssals are rising to continue the slaughter.

There are many mysteries left to unfold…we’re just getting started.

Let’s Elaborate on something else

I would….but that was a lot of information. Take a sec to read through it again if you like. To do more research on your own, google Exalted rpg and check the various Wikis on the subject and stay tuned for more issues of “Let’s Talk About Exalted”

Dreamscape

Last night I had a dream that I can only vaguely remember. I bring this up because it leads into a dream that is still very vivid and that I really wanted to share.

I was part of an organization trying to save the world. We had recruited Thane from the Mass Effect series to help us ((and the two of us were together so I guess that makes me Shephard)).

Something went wrong and Thane disagreed with us recruiting Elise from the League of Legends. The rest of the team locked him up in a spare room while we all went off to fight. He escaped, and snuck to the stairwell where Elise was fighting ((The setting for this is vague, I apologize it’s the key part I can’t remember)).

I came upon the scene as Thane shot Elise, and the spider woman fell down the stairs. He then turned the gun on himself and I was so scared. I ran un and grabbed him. I hugged him and buried my face in his chest and begged him not to. He frowned at me and kept saying things like, “Siha, I am dying…” Everything kind of fades away there. It was just so sad…

But it reminded me of another dream…

I had just beaten Mass Effect 3. I chose the third ending ((spoilers possible ahead!)) and remember watching Shepard fall as the memories of those she loved flashed through her head. I sobbed for a good while.
Earlier in the game Thane died to an assassin, but not before saying a prayer for his Siha and promising that he would wait for her.

The dream started with me, more clearly as Shephard this time, falling into an endless ocean. I was alone. I picked a direction and started swimming. It seemed like the best option.

Eventually I found a rowboat going the same way. Inside was Admiral Anderson. He helped me out of the water, and I helped him row. After an age we saw an island in the distance. It was beautiful. Lush green trees surrounded a white peaked mountain. As we got closer, we could hear voices shouting our names. Closer still, and we saw faces.

Standing on the beach, waiting for us was everyone I had lost in the series. Mordin, Legion, Ashley, Jack, and right in front: Thane. They helped us onto the beach and pulled me into a group hug. I cried tears of joy.
“I told you I would wait for you, Siha,” said Thane.

A montage of scene came after that. The island was paradise and we spent our time doing whatever we wanted. But every day, I went to the bar. I sat, and I waited. As time passed new faces came to the island. I remember seeing Wrex in particular. Someone finally asked me why I spent so much time at the bar, and I answered.

“I made a promise to someone that if things went south, I would meet them here. I’m still waiting.”

There is a part of me that truly hopes that little piece of paradise is really what the afterlife is like.