Backstory Help for new players

[MrBojangles]

Hi everyone! So I've been a big Exalted fan for a while now but I've only gotten to play in a few games and ST one. While that first attempt at being a storyteller went decently well (one of the players punched a mast of a ship through a behemoth resembling the kraken from Pirates of the Caribbean) real life has forced me to move away from that group. Fortunately I've found another group players.


One of them came up with the character of an actor who exalts during a truly difficult but sublime performance. He also has the idea that his partner in the play exalts at the same time as his lunar mate. The big problem is that their are a few dynasts in the audience who attack them immediately and while he escapes, his lover dies from the dragon-blooded. One of his big intimacies now is to find the new bearer of his lunar mate exaltation.


So, can that happen? It's my understanding that solars and lunars don't exalt under quite the same circumstances though I'm having a hard time finding information on what pushes a lunar to exalt (something about surviving the impossible?).

 

[Cirno]

There's a link to a post I need to go dig up, but yes. Lunars exalt after they've done something awesome, compared to Solars who usually exalt in time to accomplish something awesome.


Edit: Here we go. http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?389920-Exalted-Help-with-an-old-thread Ebon_Arbiter posted the link, so I'm just adding to the likes count.

 

[MrBojangles]

That is excellent, thanks!! So, with that in mind, do you think his idea could be cajiggered (i think my grandfather just rubbed off on me ) to work? Or should I work with him to change it somehow?

 

[Cirno]

I'm fairly to the Exalted setting myself. I'm sure there's lots of ways to set up exalting on the same stage. Here's one idea.


If he's okay with not exalting at the exact same time, his Lunar mate could have done something awesome maybe in the act just before. Then his character exalted to give an extraordinary performance as an attempted distraction, but some Dragonbloods shake it off and still kill his mate. Or he exalts while they go after his mate, but in time to give a performance that dissuades the Dragonbloods from bludgeoning the rest of the troupe.

 

[ghoti115]

Actually, I really like that idea and wish I had come up with it. While some people might tell you that it shouldn't happen, remember that it is your game and you want to reward your players for creativity and originality. As long as you have no objection to it you should let it slide. It can be explained that if the Lunar had survived it could have become a Changing Moon. I would really work with a player to make happen based on it being an Intimacy for the character, but not the Motivation for the character. It's not epic enough to be a Motivation.


It could be something as simple as an Intimacy for the character or you could allow him (or her) to take a Merit or two to reflect it. See the Scroll of Heroes if you want to take a look at the Merits. You could go for the standard True Love Merit and keep it simple. Alternately, you could use a combination of Past Lives Merit and Obligation Flaw to make a more compelling reason to seek out the Lunar. It could be the performance was the same one they did back in the First Age, which sparked the Exaltation. They had been performing when they were attacked during the Usurpation and with the same result, the Lunar dying in the Solars. This would of course be a nice slow reveal after a few games, though the character should feel the obligation for an unknown reason.


Don't give him (or her) Eternal Vow (a First Edition Merit) as it makes the goal too easy to accomplish.


There are a few other ways this can be played, so I need to ask what Caste is the Solar? Next, do they have Performance as a Caste/Favored Ability?

 

[Captain Hesperus]

I have a couple of 'outs' the Lunar could apply, if you want them to have survived the Exaltation event:


1) The Dragon-Blooded.

1. Yes, they are the ones who instigate the Wyld Hunts, however the Huntsmen are often extensively trained to work together as a cohesive unit and they originally planned their attacks well in advance, so that everyone knew what their jobs were. In this instance, the exaltations happened right in front of them, giving a disparate group of Dragon-Blooded no time to acquaint themselves with each others' strengths and weaknesses before going into battle.
   
2. Leads on from 1 above. These exaltations happened at a major social event, thus the Dragon-Blooded would be equipped, for the most part with light arms and armour, if not for social niceties or the complications of seating themselves with a Grand Grimcleaver, then for 'common morale' (i.e. Commoners seeing the Lords of the Earth wandering around the home of the Realm armed for a major assault, what's that saying about how safe the DB's feel?).
   
3. The mounting civil war. With the Empress gone, inter-House rivalry is ramped up 110%. Added to this the problem of 1 and 2. Each Dragon-Blood sees him/herself as a leader, not a follower. The only real leaders they currently accept are their House leaders. In a situation like this, every DB will be shouting orders to each other, expecting them to be obeyed without question. Some may even end up arguing over what the best plan is. Additionally, they will be wanting to expend as little of their own strength as possible while weakening their rivals. 'Why break my own back when I can force others to do break theirs for me?'. And if a rising star from another house gets killed? Well, that will create a power vacuum that can be exploited for the future.
   
4. Civilians. The majority of Realm/satrapy citizens know the stories of the dread Anathema. The first flash of gold and silver Essence will have every right-minded mortal running screaming for the doors. So the DBs will be fighting through a tide of people trying to put as much distance between themselves and danger as possible. AoE Charms? Depends on how callous the DBs are. They go toasting too many mortals with too many witnesses around, there may end up being bad feelings bubbling up later.
   

2) Lunar Charms


There are a great many Lunar charms that can aid with surviving a horde of DBs and depending on how you run exaltations, this can even run to temporary access to high-Essence Charms (imagine those computer games where your character starts out with a massive level of power, loses it and then has to work back up to that original power). The Lunar can use distraction Charms to negate overwhelming numbers, dodge Charms to evade combat and certain stealth Charms to appear to leave combat, re-establish surprise, etc.


So the chances are, with these factors of mind, that the Lunar might have survived. But then, that would be up to you and how you want to run the game, what you plan for the Solar/Lunar relationship and where the game is set.


Captain Hesperus

 

[MrBojangles]

It could be the performance was the same one they did back in the First Age, which sparked the Exaltation. They had been performing when they were attacked during the Usurpation and with the same result, the Lunar dying in the Solars. This would of course be a nice slow reveal after a few games, though the character should feel the obligation for an unknown reason.

This. This right here. This is pure awesome! An impossible performance created by a solar for use with his lunar mate passed down through the Usurpation and the Contagion as the pinnacle of the perfoming arts in the form of dual roles. One of glory and perfection, the other of fluidity and chaos. That is definitely a good starting point. The only time it was successfully performed was at the beginning of a certain Calibration banquet...(this sounds like the origin story of some crazy Martial Art style for celestials)


He doesn't know it but the character he made is a near perfect replica of Swan mechanically. An Eclipse cast specializing in social combat but uses Snake Style for physical. And yes, he does have Performance favored.


It was his idea to kill the Lunar and make it a secondary goal of his character to find her again (I'm unsure if he realizes that the "her" could actually be a "him" now). I've had the thought of keeping her alive for later use though.

 

[ghoti115]

I am happy to fill in the blanks and help form a good story.


An Eclipse Caste is a good choice for this concept. As for killing off the Lunar, I will continue to say that you should do what feels right for the story. You would need to figure out how much this is going to play into your story and if you want it to be a basis for exploration of Creation (and it's past) or if you want it to lead into a confrontation with the DBs.


If you decide to go with an exploration theme, have the Lunar die at the hands of the DBs. First, it gives you the opening for flashes of the event during the Usurpation. This could lead to the discovery of a Manse, Artifact, or whatever other secrect from the past you want your PCs to discover. Second, you can throw the curveball of the Lunar being a male this time around (just for fun). Third, it could be weeks or months before the Lunar even comes back around in the reincarnation cycle, so there is plenty of time for the PC to be following rumors about new Lunars, finding them, and maybe getting to know about the Silver Pact and making some friends there.


Keeping her alive suits a combat based game a bit better. She's been captured by the DBs and they are attempting to learn more about the Solar who had returned. It gives the Circle (if one has formed) a reason to return to the place where the Eclipse had Exalted to search for her (after receiving information from a God or a Fortune Teller or a vision or something else). This could lead into a whole subplot based around winning back the city (or whatever loaction) from the DBs, if you want them to start retaking cities within Creation and building an army.


These aren't the only options, but it's what I was able to think up just at the moment.

 

[magnificentmomo]

I would like to come in and say this idea is awesome, and if anyone tries to tell you that it wouldn't or shouldn't work should get a boot to the head. The devs/freelancers constantly say the rules are there to facilitate cool stories, if a rule hinders your cool story, give it the finger.*


*That is not a verbatim axiom, but it is the same idea.


Edit: to contribute a bit more, to help those people who feel the Lunar Exaltation should have a different trigger/property, perhaps they themselves are star-crossed lovers. The Lunar is betrothed to a wealthy, tyrannical patron, her very survival depends on her performance, and it is her only chance to be with her true beloved.

 

[MrBojangles]

Edit: to contribute a bit more, to help those people who feel the Lunar Exaltation should have a different trigger/property, perhaps they themselves are star-crossed lovers. The Lunar is betrothed to a wealthy, tyrannical patron, her very survival depends on her performance, and it is her only chance to be with her true beloved.

Okay, see, this too is awesome. God I love this game sometimes. It just brings out the epic in you! Thanks because this is just what I was looking for!

 

[magnificentmomo]

Glad I could be of service. I have a degree in Theatre, so that kind of love/fate quadrangle is all too familiar to me. The tyrannical patron could be a DB. It's pretty La Traviata, La Bohème, and to a lesser extent because it drew heavily from those sources, Moulin Rouge, inspired. Only instead of getting Tuberculosis, they get Exaltations, or both.