Friday, 28 January 2011
Gilius' Staff II
This was written a long time before the first article on Gilius' Staff and uses the name of a character who is a Lunar Exalted
'Mureken' despises creatures of darkness and won't suffer their immediate presence. Any creature of darkness who comes into physical contact with him suffers a number of levels of aggravated damage for every tick contact lasts.
1 level for a normal wounding hit or minor contact such as holding him with one hand (even when wearing gloves or gauntlets.)
2 levels for greater contact such as being transfixed
3 levels for extensive or total contact such as a dematerialised spirit surrounding him.
He and his companion can always communicate as along as they remain attuned. They have to physically speak (when are words audible to onlookers- when he's out of vocal range, when he's in physical contact with his companion?) Other people may be able to talk to him while touching him and be able to hear all sides of a conversation he has with others who are doing so but can only hear Mureken's voice if he's talking to his companion and not in contact with him.
When in contact with his companion he is visible to them and can perceive the world. Being a spirit he can naturally interact with other spirits even when inert. His companion can talk to him while inert, when he does he makes no sound. When active (in his companion's grasp) does he talk or do they communicate telepathically? Inert conversation with him costs 1wp for a scene. In person they can communicate mentally, although this requires the user to enter a trance and Mureken thinks it's no fun.
Contact with creatures of darkness causes 1 level of aggravated damage per tick. If the contact takes the form of an attack it must touch them directly hitting their armour isn't enough. If contact is accidental or they deliberately touch him, armour and clothing will not prevent injury. This damage can only be blocked by Charms and other magic that offer a perfect defense.
A Solar who attunes with him and has Essence 4 or greater may use a version of the Melee Charm Blazig Solar Bolt. Substitute the character's martial arts rating instead of melee and no willpower is required. However the attack can only be used against creatures of darkness (although other people might be hit if he misses.) The attack is considered a martial arts attack.
The character must spend 8 motes to attune to him although they can commit an extra (Essence x 3) motes which he can use for Charms or inflicting aggravated damage (1 level per tick.) Essence used by Mureken to power his abilities counts towards the Exalt's anima banner display.
Commiting additional Essence requires spending one scene meditation (effectively inactive?)
'The Eyes' A Solar can spend one mote of committed Essence to use the Burning Chakra Charm.
Mureken automatically causees aggravated damage to Creatures of Darkness as he wouldn't suffer their polluted presence.
Sundragon is inhabited by the spirit (_). He never talks about his own originsbut Gilius believes he may be his incarnation from the First Age, maybe even from the war against the Priomordials.
'Mureken' despises creatures of darkness and won't suffer their immediate presence. Any creature of darkness who comes into physical contact with him suffers a number of levels of aggravated damage for every tick contact lasts.
1 level for a normal wounding hit or minor contact such as holding him with one hand (even when wearing gloves or gauntlets.)
2 levels for greater contact such as being transfixed
3 levels for extensive or total contact such as a dematerialised spirit surrounding him.
He and his companion can always communicate as along as they remain attuned. They have to physically speak (when are words audible to onlookers- when he's out of vocal range, when he's in physical contact with his companion?) Other people may be able to talk to him while touching him and be able to hear all sides of a conversation he has with others who are doing so but can only hear Mureken's voice if he's talking to his companion and not in contact with him.
When in contact with his companion he is visible to them and can perceive the world. Being a spirit he can naturally interact with other spirits even when inert. His companion can talk to him while inert, when he does he makes no sound. When active (in his companion's grasp) does he talk or do they communicate telepathically? Inert conversation with him costs 1wp for a scene. In person they can communicate mentally, although this requires the user to enter a trance and Mureken thinks it's no fun.
Contact with creatures of darkness causes 1 level of aggravated damage per tick. If the contact takes the form of an attack it must touch them directly hitting their armour isn't enough. If contact is accidental or they deliberately touch him, armour and clothing will not prevent injury. This damage can only be blocked by Charms and other magic that offer a perfect defense.
A Solar who attunes with him and has Essence 4 or greater may use a version of the Melee Charm Blazig Solar Bolt. Substitute the character's martial arts rating instead of melee and no willpower is required. However the attack can only be used against creatures of darkness (although other people might be hit if he misses.) The attack is considered a martial arts attack.
The character must spend 8 motes to attune to him although they can commit an extra (Essence x 3) motes which he can use for Charms or inflicting aggravated damage (1 level per tick.) Essence used by Mureken to power his abilities counts towards the Exalt's anima banner display.
Commiting additional Essence requires spending one scene meditation (effectively inactive?)
'The Eyes' A Solar can spend one mote of committed Essence to use the Burning Chakra Charm.
Mureken automatically causees aggravated damage to Creatures of Darkness as he wouldn't suffer their polluted presence.
Sundragon is inhabited by the spirit (_). He never talks about his own originsbut Gilius believes he may be his incarnation from the First Age, maybe even from the war against the Priomordials.
Abyssal Manse
What if the Goddess of the Ashen Vale could turn an area of negative geomancy (Abyssal demesne) into a Manse by using Moliation and Pandemonium? Instead of using architecture and planting groves in occult patterns she performs ritual slaughters to channel the Essence of the site.
Perhaps caves were expanded by a race during the First Age or earlier though they left few or no traces of themselves except madness that still pervades the place.
The cave beneath the mountains was already a hellish and disturbing place due to it's confluence of negative geomancy. Perhaps connected in some way to the overthrow of the Primordials, the haven of an early cult worshipping one of the Deathlords, or perhaps the realm of a society driven insane by one of the newly slain Neverborn long ago in Creation's history, twisting their minds through the thin veil caused by the region's concentration of Abyssal Essence. Whatever madness overtook them it's former inhabitants have long since vanished. No remains littered the cave floor, the ancient tombs sealed in it's bowels were found empty and the place was devoid of ghosts, or any animal that might live in a cave. Until Ghost Walker arrived.
Perhaps the same madness that warped it's ancient dwellers to perform the acts shown on the reliefs still lingers, or maybe it's the influence of whatever mysterious and inexplicable disaster that overtook them. As one studies the series of reliefs they become increasingly laden with doom.
Perhaps caves were expanded by a race during the First Age or earlier though they left few or no traces of themselves except madness that still pervades the place.
The cave beneath the mountains was already a hellish and disturbing place due to it's confluence of negative geomancy. Perhaps connected in some way to the overthrow of the Primordials, the haven of an early cult worshipping one of the Deathlords, or perhaps the realm of a society driven insane by one of the newly slain Neverborn long ago in Creation's history, twisting their minds through the thin veil caused by the region's concentration of Abyssal Essence. Whatever madness overtook them it's former inhabitants have long since vanished. No remains littered the cave floor, the ancient tombs sealed in it's bowels were found empty and the place was devoid of ghosts, or any animal that might live in a cave. Until Ghost Walker arrived.
Perhaps the same madness that warped it's ancient dwellers to perform the acts shown on the reliefs still lingers, or maybe it's the influence of whatever mysterious and inexplicable disaster that overtook them. As one studies the series of reliefs they become increasingly laden with doom.
Thursday, 27 January 2011
Witch's Gaze
Charm that lets her see in total darkness. He eyes glow white.
Mirror of All Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight and Burning Chakra Charm.
Mirror of All Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight and Burning Chakra Charm.
Depthless Draught Maneuver
Sail 5 Essence 4?
Wherever there is water the ship will sail, the bottom of the keel barely breaking the surface. It can travel far inland up the shallowest rivers or chart unnavigable shoals and reefs. It can only be stopped by a point where it's weight would rest on land like an exposed sandbar or a narrow stream. Fords of sufficiently wide rivers are no impediment as a long as there is at least an inch of water. Neither will currents stop it or change it's course.
Wherever there is water the ship will sail, the bottom of the keel barely breaking the surface. It can travel far inland up the shallowest rivers or chart unnavigable shoals and reefs. It can only be stopped by a point where it's weight would rest on land like an exposed sandbar or a narrow stream. Fords of sufficiently wide rivers are no impediment as a long as there is at least an inch of water. Neither will currents stop it or change it's course.
Elemental Poles
Pole of Storms/Pole of Ice?
Storm and fire two destructive elements but can be used productively. Water and Wood (Earth?) two elements needed to sustain life.
What if the Pole of Earth was in the East and the Pole of Wood was at the centre? Then the Blessed Isle truly would be blessed with great fertility and the far east would be a realm of increasingly tall mountain ranges ending in the 'World Edge Mountains.'
Storm and fire two destructive elements but can be used productively. Water and Wood (Earth?) two elements needed to sustain life.
What if the Pole of Earth was in the East and the Pole of Wood was at the centre? Then the Blessed Isle truly would be blessed with great fertility and the far east would be a realm of increasingly tall mountain ranges ending in the 'World Edge Mountains.'
Exalted
There's nothing wrong with that because that's what all fantasy is based on- mythology. The point is to be original and inventive with your influences. The creators of Warhammer did an amazingly good job by taking an idea and making it their own. That's how you create a good fantasy setting.
It's a bit disappointing to see archetypal fantasy creatures like Goblins (the East) and Unicorns (the North) in a game that breaks fantasy conventions so thoroughly.
It's a bit disappointing to see archetypal fantasy creatures like Goblins (the East) and Unicorns (the North) in a game that breaks fantasy conventions so thoroughly.
Elementals and gods
Precincts of Elementals and gods. Nature of an elemental controls an aspect of Creation's form. Ice elementals control the weather.
Thunderbirds Ice elementals that fly above clouds and create thunder when the flap their wings. While each elemental is a distinct being with it's own personality and experiences they can also be categorised into groups that share variants of identical characteristics in the way that tigers always hae orange fur and black stripes but each tiger's stripes can be used to identify it. Gods however are unique.
Thunderbirds Ice elementals that fly above clouds and create thunder when the flap their wings. While each elemental is a distinct being with it's own personality and experiences they can also be categorised into groups that share variants of identical characteristics in the way that tigers always hae orange fur and black stripes but each tiger's stripes can be used to identify it. Gods however are unique.
Strix
Strix feathers used for their quietness. Skullloft Skull Loft Strix Manse. Strix usually inhabit desolate places such as ruins, abandoned graveyards and other places not frequented by people. If there are Strix living there no one is likely to visit anyway.
Jade
Jade looks like a pure element. Fire jade looks like pure fire. Combined with a flammable esoteric ingredient. Sometimes it looks like eternally burning fire, at others it looks like hard but still molten rock.
Water jade keeps it's fluid nature. Does it need to be combined with a material that can make it solid or keep it liquid.
Water jade keeps it's fluid nature. Does it need to be combined with a material that can make it solid or keep it liquid.
Lunars
Lunars' shapeshifting power- they believe their bodies to be changing shape and as a result of the Wyld taint in their Essence they do so. Maybe moonsilver tattoos increase this ability.
Banshees
Perhaps the screams of banshees kill only men, whose lovers would be distraught at their deaths and driven by anguish into madness where they often die or become wailing grief-stricken banshees themselves. Some banshees are only children who were unable to bear their parents' deaths. However in addition to being able to bring death, they also have the power to predict it if someone can talk to them when they're calm enough.
Occult
Occult- intrinsically a difficult knowledge to acquire. Storytellers may want to adjust 'training times' (read investigation) accordingly. There's a lot of myth in the world. People with occult have a good idea of what's true and what isn't. Some abilities are easier to acquire than others. Lore for instance propagates itself naturally and is easy to find sources of solid information for.
Fae and Fae-blooded
Fae and Fae-blooded might have extraordinary powers such as their voices bringing death.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Shackles of Inescapable Fate
Ghost Walker's vambraces. In addition to the normal bonuses of soulsteel hearthstone bracers when she sttacks an opponent in hand to hand combat their DV against her is reduced by 2.
Artefacts
I think they misrepresented artefacts in Exalted (there's much of the game I don't agree with or want to improve on which is why I write about it so much.) Magical weapons are a case in point. It's easy to use them as an example because they are all variants of normal 'mundane' weapons and have a long string of stats so they have a family of normal objects they can be compared to and their performance can be expressed statistically.
The thing I think they should change about artefacts, in this case weapons, is the way they differ from ordinary objects and their basic statistical superiority. In essence the problem is they are designed (from a rules point of view) based on the fact that their superiority is a result of the fact they are constructed of magical materials (bloody badly written sentence, someone coughed and broke my concentration.) The two elements of artefact construction are they are made from the magical materials and esoteric ingredients. But because of their aesthetic form and their blatant superiority the esoteric ingredient element of their design is more of an afterthought to making something out of a slab of jade.
At the real root of the problem is the very existence of rules for magical weapons. Specifically a set of rules that gives specific stats for each one. The artefacts are truly generic with any optional special powers added onto their already potent capabilities. To compare this to the magic items of Warhammer this stands out because in Warhammer there was no such thing as an equivalent to a daiklave. There were a host of magic swords but each one was made by a mastercraftsman, the esoteric ingredients in it's construction were desscribed and each one was unique. True some weapons were made to a common design such as the Runefangs but the unique element of the ingredients used in their construction such as metal heated in the fire of dragon breath were more important than the materials they were made of.
Before I discovered the artefact weapon section at the back of the book I was giddy with excitement at how such weapons would be superior to their normal counterparts. I'd heard of the bonuses that apply from using the magical materials before reading about the rules for artefact weapons. Now I think artefact construction should be viewed more from that perspective. My idea on how artefacts should be designed follows:
Use the statistics for mundane weapons as a base.
Artefacts are invariably made as superior equipment. How superior you can decide when you make them, exceptional and especially perfect artefacts would take appropriately longer. I want to address the rules for making superior equipment as they're a bit fuzzy or incorrect to me.
The apply the appropriate magical material bonus to the artefact.
The essential point of creating an artefact weapon isn't that it simply has higher accuracy, defense, rate, does appalling damage etc. but the original powers the maker choses to invest it with. You could simply make it easier to hit an enemy with or much larger and capable of doing more damage but it's real value is in the powers that result from the esoteric ingredients used in it's construction.
When I was creating Gilius' Staff Ryuk I hit on the idea of using the manse power Sentient as a model for creating him as an entity. Since then I've thought of using a similar system of points and power ranking schemes for creating different levels of artefacts. More will follow once I've given some thought to it.
The thing I think they should change about artefacts, in this case weapons, is the way they differ from ordinary objects and their basic statistical superiority. In essence the problem is they are designed (from a rules point of view) based on the fact that their superiority is a result of the fact they are constructed of magical materials (bloody badly written sentence, someone coughed and broke my concentration.) The two elements of artefact construction are they are made from the magical materials and esoteric ingredients. But because of their aesthetic form and their blatant superiority the esoteric ingredient element of their design is more of an afterthought to making something out of a slab of jade.
At the real root of the problem is the very existence of rules for magical weapons. Specifically a set of rules that gives specific stats for each one. The artefacts are truly generic with any optional special powers added onto their already potent capabilities. To compare this to the magic items of Warhammer this stands out because in Warhammer there was no such thing as an equivalent to a daiklave. There were a host of magic swords but each one was made by a mastercraftsman, the esoteric ingredients in it's construction were desscribed and each one was unique. True some weapons were made to a common design such as the Runefangs but the unique element of the ingredients used in their construction such as metal heated in the fire of dragon breath were more important than the materials they were made of.
Before I discovered the artefact weapon section at the back of the book I was giddy with excitement at how such weapons would be superior to their normal counterparts. I'd heard of the bonuses that apply from using the magical materials before reading about the rules for artefact weapons. Now I think artefact construction should be viewed more from that perspective. My idea on how artefacts should be designed follows:
Use the statistics for mundane weapons as a base.
Artefacts are invariably made as superior equipment. How superior you can decide when you make them, exceptional and especially perfect artefacts would take appropriately longer. I want to address the rules for making superior equipment as they're a bit fuzzy or incorrect to me.
The apply the appropriate magical material bonus to the artefact.
The essential point of creating an artefact weapon isn't that it simply has higher accuracy, defense, rate, does appalling damage etc. but the original powers the maker choses to invest it with. You could simply make it easier to hit an enemy with or much larger and capable of doing more damage but it's real value is in the powers that result from the esoteric ingredients used in it's construction.
When I was creating Gilius' Staff Ryuk I hit on the idea of using the manse power Sentient as a model for creating him as an entity. Since then I've thought of using a similar system of points and power ranking schemes for creating different levels of artefacts. More will follow once I've given some thought to it.
Sorcery
I think this was undertoned in the original book. Sorcery is supposed to be the greatest of the supernatural disciplines. Just as the Solars are the greatest of the Exalted (taking after the nature of their creator) and the only Exalted who can learn the third circle of this most powerful of abilities. Having a minimum Occult and Essence rating of five does make Solar Circle sorcery accessible to characters who haven't been around long enough to raise their Essence to 6 but demeans the value of the craft. On a related note I think thaumaturgy is a bit too dull. It's supposed to be magic so tame that even mortals can practice it because it's based on manipulating Essence patterns to do things they can do anyway rather than creating new ones but could do with more spice.
Sorcery however is supposed to be greater than the most impressive feats of shapeshifting or Sidereal martial arts. So why does the highest level or sorcery have a pathetic trait minimum level of five for it's greatest expression. Sidereal styles have Essence 8 Charms and Lunar shapeshifting is a direct partner of their ordinary powers. So I decided to create the following rules to give Solar Circle sorcery (in fact all sorcery) the rarity and distinction it deserves.
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery Minimum Occult and Essence: 5
Celestial Circle Sorcery Minimum Occult and Essence: 7
Solar Circle Sorcery Minimum Occult and Essence: 9.
That should demonstrate just how demanding and potent sorcery is. And be a mark of how difficult to learn the greatest of the supernatural disciplines is as well as a comparison of it's power in relation to other Charms.
Sorcery however is supposed to be greater than the most impressive feats of shapeshifting or Sidereal martial arts. So why does the highest level or sorcery have a pathetic trait minimum level of five for it's greatest expression. Sidereal styles have Essence 8 Charms and Lunar shapeshifting is a direct partner of their ordinary powers. So I decided to create the following rules to give Solar Circle sorcery (in fact all sorcery) the rarity and distinction it deserves.
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery Minimum Occult and Essence: 5
Celestial Circle Sorcery Minimum Occult and Essence: 7
Solar Circle Sorcery Minimum Occult and Essence: 9.
That should demonstrate just how demanding and potent sorcery is. And be a mark of how difficult to learn the greatest of the supernatural disciplines is as well as a comparison of it's power in relation to other Charms.
Catchphrases
Loser friendly- a device or system (typically computer related) in widespread use that panders to the least intelligent members of the population while making use of something more difficult for the adequately intelligent.
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