Across the Eight Directions [Exalted 3e/Essence]

[Red Shadow Claws]

Droplets of Blood on the Chilly Wind

She was named Indah at birth, but if you mention that name, she will ignore you at best, and seek to put the fear of death in you otherwise.

Her parents, being poor themselves, gave her up at a young age to the priestesses, so she barely remembers them, and any memories she might have had of them, are long buried. But the priestesses she was given to were ancestor priestesses, and they subjected the little girl to ghost possession, to act as a voice for the ancestor ghosts.

It was a terrifying experience, but she grew to like it, as it gave her a sense of mystique, and sometimes even let her glimpse some of the thoughts of the ghost possessing her, allowing her a glimpse of their 'life' in the Underworld.

But priestesses were supposed to remain virgin, to better serve the ancestors, and when she was young, she fell in love with a young man, and ended up pregnant. Not only was she cast out by the priestesses, but the young man refused to acknowledge her child, and so she had to find another way to survive.

Unable to find work in the city, with a newborn child, and with the scorn of the priestesses, she left the city to live in the wilderness, exploring its secrets, discovering what's edible, and what's poisonous, and eking out a living.

When her child grew up, she brought him back with her to the city, and began to serve as a guide to those who wanted to travel the island, making a modest income, and seeing her son prosper, and become a member of the city guard.

She was already an old woman when the Bronze Tide arrived. She knew her meager fighting skill wouldn't be of much use, but she had an ace up her sleeve. In one of the ghost possessions, she caught a glimpse of an ancient prophecy, and had been following up on clues of it ever since. An ancient device was hidden here to defend the city in time of need. Her own knowledge was not enough to find it, or unlock its secrets in time, but she knew a scholar in the city that might be able to do so, so she made her way to him, to enlist his aid.

When they got there, the Bronze Tide has already breached the walls, and time was short. She planted her feet at the entrance, and told the scholar to go on, and she will buy him time, as much as she can.

She managed to fell a couple of attackers, when a sword pierced her body, and she dropped, seeing her life flash before her, when a voice offered her a chance at both revenge, and to fulfill her destination. It was a lie. A clever lie, but still a lie.

Oh, she did get some revenge, waking up with her hand around an ichneumon that tried to implant eggs in her blood body, and binding it to her will, and then killing more of the Bronze Tide, as they fled before her bloody corpse.

But shortly after, the Black Heron 'invited' her to her palace in Stygia, where she lavished presents on her, trying to get her to serve it directly. She didn't outright refuse, but she felt as if she was trying to put shackles on her, and it ran counter to her fulfilling her idea of her destiny.

 

[Random Word]

A few small alterations I'd like to make:

Firstly, in general, in my story the Deathlords don't lie when they offer Abyssal Exaltation. They're interested in genuine and enthusiastic service, and if their Deathknights feel betrayed early on, that can sour the relationship forever. And forever is a long time when you're an immortal ghost. They get forever, and grudges. Even the Lion knows not to be a dick to his Deathknights, and he's a dick to everyone. They're generally more than happy to genuinely provide whatever it is the Abyssal wants, especially the Heron, who will go all out to give you whatever it is your heart desires if it's within her power. Whatever bargain you struck with the Deathlord, even if you regret it later, was made in good faith.

Secondly, wind back time a bit. We'll be picking up in the immediate aftermath of the attack, so the Heron will be dispatching someone to make contact with you and, if you accept, usher you into the Underworld. Narratively we want to avoid this, unless we have weeks of downtime to kill, because generally a Deathknight's first visit to the Underworld isn't short. They have a lot to learn, and a lot to explore. So ideally you'll be resistant to the summons of the Heron's representatives, and there will be drama and tension in their attempts to persuade you. If they succeed and you do go to the Underworld, we might have the other players go after you to pull you back to the world of the living before it's too late.

Thirdly, we really want to emphasize what the Heron saw in you. She thinks you're perfect for executing some part of her plan. Perhaps she thinks you're exactly the agent she needs to seize the war manse and the fortress beneath it, or maybe she has plans for you somewhere else in Creation entirely, but we want to emphasize why, of all the people dying in Creation right now, she chose to make a pact with you. Just as importantly, we want to know why you chose to accept. The Heron offered you your heart's desire in exchange for eternal service against her enemies. It takes a certain kind of person to accept a deal like that, to knowingly and willingly sell your soul to the devil. For a fundamentally good person to accept that deal, they need a powerful motivation. Like, "they killed my son, and I'll do anything to end them," levels of motivation. Make sure to establish your motivation for saying yes, as it's a really important part of this story. It plays no small part in answering the question of whether your character can be redeemed, and whether the other characters will want to try.

Fourth, we really need your story to have strong bonds with at least some of the other PCs. Like, really strong. "I met you five minutes ago and you gave me a great tip about the war manse," just isn't going to preserve the relationship when your newfound nature is revealed. If the scholar is your son, and somehow you worked yourself to the bone to get him a Guild/Timeless Order/Etc education, that's the kind of strength that makes them fight for you even when life reviles you. Or if you grew up together, or helped raise the scholar when he was an orphan on the streets, or saved his life somehow - something that binds you as tightly as blood, ideally. I think Psychie plans to have Garret grow up in the city as well, so if you can work with both of them to figure out what ties you all together in this life, that's ideal.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

A few small alterations I'd like to make:

Firstly, in general, in my story the Deathlords don't lie when they offer Abyssal Exaltation. They're interested in genuine and enthusiastic service, and if their Deathknights feel betrayed early on, that can sour the relationship forever. And forever is a long time when you're an immortal ghost. They get forever, and grudges. Even the Lion knows not to be a dick to his Deathknights, and he's a dick to everyone. They're generally more than happy to genuinely provide whatever it is the Abyssal wants, especially the Heron, who will go all out to give you whatever it is your heart desires if it's within her power. Whatever bargain you struck with the Deathlord, even if you regret it later, was made in good faith.

Secondly, wind back time a bit. We'll be picking up in the immediate aftermath of the attack, so the Heron will be dispatching someone to make contact with you and, if you accept, usher you into the Underworld. Narratively we want to avoid this, unless we have weeks of downtime to kill, because generally a Deathknight's first visit to the Underworld isn't short. They have a lot to learn, and a lot to explore. So ideally you'll be resistant to the summons of the Heron's representatives, and there will be drama and tension in their attempts to persuade you. If they succeed and you do go to the Underworld, we might have the other players go after you to pull you back to the world of the living before it's too late.

Thirdly, we really want to emphasize what the Heron saw in you. She thinks you're perfect for executing some part of her plan. Perhaps she thinks you're exactly the agent she needs to seize the war manse and the fortress beneath it, or maybe she has plans for you somewhere else in Creation entirely, but we want to emphasize why, of all the people dying in Creation right now, she chose to make a pact with you. Just as importantly, we want to know why you chose to accept. The Heron offered you your heart's desire in exchange for eternal service against her enemies. It takes a certain kind of person to accept a deal like that, to knowingly and willingly sell your soul to the devil. For a fundamentally good person to accept that deal, they need a powerful motivation. Like, "they killed my son, and I'll do anything to end them," levels of motivation. Make sure to establish your motivation for saying yes, as it's a really important part of this story. It plays no small part in answering the question of whether your character can be redeemed, and whether the other characters will want to try.

Fourth, we really need your story to have strong bonds with at least some of the other PCs. Like, really strong. "I met you five minutes ago and you gave me a great tip about the war manse," just isn't going to preserve the relationship when your newfound nature is revealed. If the scholar is your son, and somehow you worked yourself to the bone to get him a Guild/Timeless Order/Etc education, that's the kind of strength that makes them fight for you even when life reviles you. Or if you grew up together, or helped raise the scholar when he was an orphan on the streets, or saved his life somehow - something that binds you as tightly as blood, ideally. I think Psychie plans to have Garret grow up in the city as well, so if you can work with both of them to figure out what ties you all together in this life, that's ideal.

I have no problem making alternations. It's the reason why I posted my background, to give you and the other players a chance to read it, and work together on our ties. It's just a draft to put some things together, so I have a better grasp of the history of my character, so I can choose what Charms to give her at least somewhat based on her background.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

I think we can get an OOC thread going to move to

 

[Random Word]

You're quite right. I entirely forgot about the logistics: OOC

 

[Crocodile]

Room for any more?

 

[Random Word]

Room for any more?

For you? Of course. Fair warning, this party is shaping up to be a beautiful rainbow mess, so you're going to have to figure out how to make a character who can get along with a Solar, Lunar, Abyssal, and Sidereal. So, like, probably not a militant Dynast. Or a Bronze faction Sidereal. Or a fanatical Pact Lunar. Creativity and flexibility are a must. This party is trying its hardest to tear itself apart, so strong inter-PC bonds are a must. Something has to make you all get along, besides the impending annihilation of the Southwest.

 

[Crocodile]

For you? Of course. Fair warning, this party is shaping up to be a beautiful rainbow mess, so you're going to have to figure out how to make a character who can get along with a Solar, Lunar, Abyssal, and Sidereal. So, like, probably not a militant Dynast. Or a Bronze faction Sidereal. Or a fanatical Pact Lunar. Creativity and flexibility are a must. This party is trying its hardest to tear itself apart, so strong inter-PC bonds are a must. Something has to make you all get along, besides the impending annihilation of the Southwest.

Intersting, is this 3rd or Essence? That helps me mechanically plan while I settle on a splat.

 

[Random Word]

The unanimous vote was for full 3e, so combat's going to be... exciting. I'm going to do my best to introduce rules to streamline 3e combat for forum play.

 

[Crocodile]

The unanimous vote was for full 3e, so combat's going to be... exciting. I'm going to do my best to introduce rules to streamline 3e combat for forum play.

How's an Eclipse sound? My favorite default as I love diplomats and merchants. Plus charm collection maybe.

 

[Random Word]

Oh! Believe me, caste is the least of our problems . Yes, certainly, but I'm more interested in... Where was it...

'As the thousand ships of the Bronze Tide laid waste to the harbour and their reavers cut a bloody swathe through the town, two heroes stood defiant. One fought to the bitter end, defending the door to the old ruins legend had it would save their people in their hour of need. As the hero lay dying, the enemy dead almost filling the hallway, they accepted a dire bargain: The power to slay the people who would burn their home in exchange for eternal service. This bought their lifelong friend the time needed to activate the ancient war manse, earning the favour of the Unconquered Sun in the process. A Lunar assassin, sent by the Lunar warlord of the Bronze Tide to seize the manse and kill anyone inside, instead found themselves enamoured and switched sides. Now they must band together to rebuild the ruined city in defiance of the attentions of a Deathlord eager to claim their servant, a ravenous horde of Fae bent on devouring the whole Southwest, the vengeance of a wounded but by no means defeated Bronze Tide, and the disapproving fellow students of a Shahan-ya with no love lost for Solars or their dark mirrors.'

We settled on this as the core of the story, though things have been shuffled around a bit since then. The most important consideration is how your character fits into this. Any caste could work. Currently there's a Full Moon, Midnight, Twilight, and a mystery Sidereal. I think the Lunar opted not to be foreign.

 

[Rykon]

Wish I could make time for this, but other commitments have crippled my ability to focus on posting regularly. Good luck everyone.

 

[Equusheart]

I haven't played Exalted before, but I'm curious. Is there room for another?

 

[Random Word]

Equusheart Oooh, tricky. We're at five. Exalted can be a bit daunting to newcomers, but we have a lot of experienced players who could help you figure things out. Worse, Exalted 3e is a mechanically heavy beast, especially in combat. I may not survive running full 3e combat with six combatants on a forum. I'm willing to make the attempt, though. If you can figure out how to fit yourself into the absurd jigsaw puzzle that is the party the players have so far assembled, you deserve to play .

You haven't played Exalted before, but are you at all familiar with its lore?

 

[Equusheart]

Who doesn't love jigsaw puzzles? Honestly... no, this is the first time I've heard of Exalted But it can't be THAT difficult to understand.

 

[Random Word]

But it can't be THAT difficult to understand.

Famous last words!

Okay, so people are going to be throwing around a lot of terms you don't recognize. Broadly, Exalted is an epic high fantasy Wuxia/Xianxia inspired setting with a whole lot of world mythology thrown in. Imagine D&D where you start at level 20, and the question isn't 'Can you do it?' (You probably can), but 'Should you do it?' and 'Are you willing to accept the consequences of doing it?'. Each player is one of the titular Exalted, mortals who have had a third component bonded to their higher and lower souls: an incredibly powerful divinely forged engine of destruction originally built to slay the titans who made the world. One day you were an ordinary mortal, the next you had divine greatness thrust upon you. It varies, but usually someone else had this engine - Exaltation - before you, and hundreds of people before them. When you die, your Exaltation will part from your soul and seek the next hero to wield it. Once the Exaltation bonded to you, your natural lifespan probably became thousands of years, or eternity.

The standard type of Exalt for new players is the Solar Exalted, because they tend to know the least about what's going on in the world. The Solar Exalted are chosen by Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, and they are human greatness turned up to 11. They are Heracles, Achilles, Sheherezade, Daedalus, the Yellow Emperor, Sun Wukong, Rama, Anansi, Cúchulainn, Beowulf, Gilgamesh, Maui, Miyamoto Musashi, you get the idea. They are chosen in a moment of greatness. They attempted some heroic feat that caught the attention of the Unconquered Sun, and he granted them Exaltation that they might succeed and make Creation a better place. They don't always do that last part, but they're guaranteed to have a massive impact on the world wherever they go. If you want to sing a hurricane to sleep with the beauty of your lullaby, parry an avalanche with your sword to save a village, forge a legendary sword from ore with your bare hands quenched in the blood of things that should not be, punch a volcano so hard it thinks twice about erupting, summon and bind the princes of Hell to your will, or give speeches that shape nations and cultures for generations, being a Solar might be for you.

There are other options! You can be an elementally empowered scion of the blood of Gaia, a shape-changing trickster/warrior/witch chosen by Luna, an all-knowing fate-ninja who does way too much paperwork for the Celestial Bureaucracy chosen by the Maidens of Destiny (For the love of Sol don't pick this for your first character unless you read incredibly fast), or a tragic hero who at the moment of their death was spared and empowered by the deathless tomb-corpses of the titans who built the world and their endless hatred for all that exists. Yes, someone did choose that last one. Yes, it is going to be as awkward as you're imagining.

 

[Equusheart]

Maybe? Lol, we shall see. Satisfaction brings back the cat.

Yeah, this definitely sounds like D&D on steroids. And the "mortals who have had a third component bonded to their higher and lower souls: an incredibly powerful divinely forged engine of destruction originally built to slay the titans who made the world" sounds a little familiar... (*side glances at Mercer*). This has me even more hooked now, I might do a little more research on the side as well so I fully understand the lore.

Yeah, the fate-ninja sounds a bit too much to chew. The storm singer sounds promising, or the trickster/witch. And Gaia is earth, right? Hmmmm... So many possibilities. What are the other characters like? Just so I'm not accidentally doing the same thing.

 

[Tachyon]

Will drop my hat in the ring on the off-chance that you'll have space for more players and aren't super far-along yet! Locations based games are always fun, very easy to get recurring npcs and establish a sort of relationship between the PCs and the city they live in.

Haven't gotten a chance to try playing sidereals yet, and they are really cool conceptually so that would be fun, but would be willing to play any exalt type.

 

[Random Word]

Will drop my hat in the ring on the off-chance that you'll have space for more players and aren't super far-along yet! Locations based games are always fun, very easy to get recurring npcs and establish a sort of relationship between the PCs and the city they live in.

Haven't gotten a chance to try playing sidereals yet, and they are really cool conceptually so that would be fun, but would be willing to play any exalt type.

Equusheart is still in character creation. If you can figure out a character concept that ties in well with theirs and makes them excited, I think we can just barely squeeze you in. Of course connections to others are welcome and encouraged as well, but Sidereals aren't exactly known for connection.

This party is very rainbow with two Solars, an Abyssal, a Lunar, and a DB, so if you want to play a Sidereal you'll have to be very open-minded, and possibly a Ronin. The Lunar is, thankfully for you, not Pact yet, and probably not positively disposed towards the Pact as a Pact supported faction just trashed his hometown.

 

[Grey]

Hello friends it is I

I know you're full but if RW would like a cameo or finds room down the line, I have an itinerant Twilight Caste doctor knocking about who likes to show up in his mobile clinic to dispense sage advice and medicinal teas.
Until we get Infernals again and I can convert him back into a left-handed bodhisattva.

 

[Tachyon]

Equusheart is still in character creation. If you can figure out a character concept that ties in well with theirs and makes them excited, I think we can just barely squeeze you in. Of course connections to others are welcome and encouraged as well, but Sidereals aren't exactly known for connection.

This party is very rainbow with two Solars, an Abyssal, a Lunar, and a DB, so if you want to play a Sidereal you'll have to be very open-minded, and possibly a Ronin. The Lunar is, thankfully for you, not Pact yet, and probably not positively disposed towards the Pact as a Pact supported faction just trashed his hometown.

Very cool!
My idea was to be either Gold Faction or simply too young to be invested in the factions, so maybe that helps with the rainbowness of the group?
The very simple hook, taking advantage of the nature of sidereals, is to say that fate needs these people to do their thing, and my sidereal's job is to make sure that happens. Maybe this doesn't work for the abyssal, are they outside of fate? But their child wouldn't be, so maybe Droplet's daughter have some destiny that she needs to grow up and fulfill.

Main problem with this I feel like it create a very professional, 'have to' sort of relationship. Ideally I'd want t a character that actually cares about the other PCs for reasons other than job description haha.
From what I can glean, at least 3 of the PCs are native (Gareth, Droplet and Sayuri. Maybe Sjet is too? Wasn't sure). So another easy way is to hook the character to the local city. Maybe <Sidereal PC> was also a member of house Akechi before exalting? Maybe <Sidereal PC> spent some time with Gareth when they were young, getting into trouble by egging houses and the like?

Finally, since the city itself has both Mercantile and Ancient Wonders features, artifacts could be unearthed here, and then make their wide far into wider Creation. So just from that perspective maybe the Bureau wants to keep a finger on the pulse of this place. That's not even getting into the whole bronze tide affair.


All that said, could definitely play a DB or Lunar if that makes things easier. I want to play some sort of guile-character, and while Sidereal would be cool to try, they type of character I want to play can be done with any exalt.

 

[Sherwood]

Very cool!
My idea was to be either Gold Faction or simply too young to be invested in the factions, so maybe that helps with the rainbowness of the group?
The very simple hook, taking advantage of the nature of sidereals, is to say that fate needs these people to do their thing, and my sidereal's job is to make sure that happens. Maybe this doesn't work for the abyssal, are they outside of fate? But their child wouldn't be, so maybe Droplet's daughter have some destiny that she needs to grow up and fulfill.

Main problem with this I feel like it create a very professional, 'have to' sort of relationship. Ideally I'd want t a character that actually cares about the other PCs for reasons other than job description haha.
From what I can glean, at least 3 of the PCs are native (Gareth, Droplet and Sayuri. Maybe Sjet is too? Wasn't sure). So another easy way is to hook the character to the local city. Maybe <Sidereal PC> was also a member of house Akechi before exalting? Maybe <Sidereal PC> spent some time with Gareth when they were young, getting into trouble by egging houses and the like?

Finally, since the city itself has both Mercantile and Ancient Wonders features, artifacts could be unearthed here, and then make their wide far into wider Creation. So just from that perspective maybe the Bureau wants to keep a finger on the pulse of this place. That's not even getting into the whole bronze tide affair.


All that said, could definitely play a DB or Lunar if that makes things easier. I want to play some sort of guile-character, and while Sidereal would be cool to try, they type of character I want to play can be done with any exalt.

We need a Sidereal. Our rainbow won't be complete without one! Celestial Exalts for the win!

 

[Random Word]

Hello friends it is I

I know you're full but if RW would like a cameo or finds room down the line, I have an itinerant Twilight Caste doctor knocking about who likes to show up in his mobile clinic to dispense sage advice and medicinal teas.
Until we get Infernals again and I can convert him back into a left-handed bodhisattva.

I'd love to have you! My hesitation for adding more players is entirely the way 3e combat simply does not scale well. Creating a combat encounter that meaningfully challenges 6 celestials and a DB is itself the final boss of Exalted. If players are willing to make PCs that aren't combat focused, then more PCs actually makes my job easier in a way, because you spend more time interacting with each other and advancing interpersonal plots.

You are at the very least assured a spot if someone drops out.

My idea was to be either Gold Faction or simply too young to be invested in the factions, so maybe that helps with the rainbowness of the group?

Gold Faction is definitely necessary! It does indeed help. I think you're right that a more personal connection trumps the professional motivation.

 

[Tachyon]

Gold Faction is definitely necessary! It does indeed help. I think you're right that a more personal connection trumps the professional motivation.

Alright, I'll be a golden boy then!
How do people feel about knowing each other from before exaltion? It's very convenient, almost preordained, but maybe a bit lazy? Definitely want my character to be local from the city.

I'll take some time and read up on the other characters a bit. Bronze tide = Bunch of Wyldians invading and we trying to/have stopped them, yes?

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Alright, I'll be a golden boy then!
How do people feel about knowing each other from before exaltion? It's very convenient, almost preordained, but maybe a bit lazy? Definitely want my character to be local from the city.

I'll take some time and read up on the other characters a bit. Bronze tide = Bunch of Wyldians invading and we trying to/have stopped them, yes?

I don't know how they portray it in 3e, but in 2e most Sidereals were taken in when they were kids, to be taught how the Celestial Bureaucracy works, and what their duties are supposed to be.
That said, it could simply be that your character has been in the city for several years, in several Resplendent Destinies, and has gotten to know our characters during that time. So, we would have a personal connection to you, but will only realize the true you after we Exalted.