WlfSamurai
Maelstrom Engineer
Crossed Spears of Eschaton
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An Abyssals and Infernals Exalted Game
By: eszett & WlfSamurai
Doom Drawn and Imminent (Abyssals Story Prelude):
Pale blue lightning bolts illuminate the wastes. Screaming thunders shake the air. The storm clouds wept and scattered teardrops on the Deathknight’s path. They soaked his wild hair and rolled down his bloodless face, salty and viscous on his lips.
I should have brought a hat, thinks the world-killer.
The Architect of Ruins often journeyed into the Labyrinth, finding the realm interestingly relevant to his expertise. The topology of divine nightmares was, at first, a difficult concept to grasp, but in the end (and there always is an end) he concluded that this all was rather enlightening. He did make it something he mastered and his liege found the dedication worthy of praise and reward.
When the Neverborn called on the Deathlord’s sworn servitude and demanded private audience, the Deathknight’s loyalty was recognized and he was chosen to receive the honor. Ah, the tombs of dead gods. To entertain himself as he drags his way through the raging sighs of cannibalized souls, he recalls his first audience with the dead titans. He remembers the way the noose pressed on his neck. He remembers the way they bled, turning dirt to mud. And he remembers the way he felt pity for the last time as he witnessed the infinite misery of the Neverborn alongside his Deathlord.
Pity. Will I feel that strange feeling again? The Architect wonders. His path squishes as his tread steps on the discarded, rotten hearts of those who died heartbroken. Will I see their carcasses and recall my oath one more time? Will I feel sorry for these poor titans?
His left foot sinks into a gap in the squirming corpus, spilling black blood into the Deathknight’s boot. Awkwardly balancing himself on one leg, the Architect takes off and drains the boot -- he finds the stink of regret in the rotten scum rather offensive. Before he takes off again, he kicks at the heap.
The storm removed itself in respect and quivering terror as the Deathknight approached the resting place of the Neverborn that called to him. The Architect feels something. Is pity this infinite cold that pierces my death-numbed skin? Or is pity this hungry hellfire in my heart where nothing is left to burn? Probably not, on both counts. He mentally shrugs and continues on. Into the grotto does he go, fearless in his philosophy that he will, eventually, die no matter what he does anyways.
The Deathknight swims through the shadows, so thick with emotional darkness that not even Essence penetrates them. Instead he feels his way around and navigates by the roaring, distant echoes. The iron floor and basalt pillars shake as entire worlds scream in aimless hate. What I feel now -- is this pity or is this just horror?
...
Thought does not come anymore. For the first time in a very long while, the Architect feels small. He wishes the sound of his footsteps will not abandon him.
…
It must have been somewhere between days and an eternity, the time he spent in the tomb. In the end (and there always is an end) even the sound of footsteps abandoned him in terror and disgust. That was a learning experience, because he did not know that was possible. Fatigued, scared and humbled, he falls to his knees in the presence of slumbering mind of the Neverborn. When the Architect realized that the incessant howling noise was becoming something resemblant of syllables and words, he finally decided that, yes, he did feel pity again -- for himself.
…
Memory fails him. The darkness spilled into his soul and dimmed his mind. When he recounts the ultimate history of Creation at its end, this will be an embarrassing blank. But does that matter anymore? Receiving the presence of the Neverborn in solitude, it was a learning experience that changed him. The feeling of smallness, he recalls, was the most important, for a great plan was revealed to him.
The Architect is a part of this plan -- or indeed, he always was a part of this plan since the moment he received his title. A long journey awaits this ragged, rent man now, for he received the glory of gathering the mightiest champions of Oblivion and sharpening the spearhead of the Void. He will blow the clarion of the dead ones. He will lay the cornerstone for the grand monument to Nothing.
Now, the Architect of Ruins wonders, who shall answer the call of the Neverborn? Who amongst the Knights of Death shall be honored to destroy Creation?
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Cracked Cell Circumvention (Infernals Story Prelude):
My beloved Creation, she despaired, naked and ashamed, I had worked so hard to save you. How could I know my work would be your undoing... She would have cried, but her tears had been spent long ago and were a luxury her Master no longer allowed.
He had stripped her of everything, raping her physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. He delved into the depths of her soul and mind taking what was his. When it was done, only a flicker of consciousness was left to her, enough to feel the pain. It was an agony that marked her, always present in her mind like a shadow clawing at her soul. Even now she felt it peeling back her thoughts like a rusty pairing knife against a rotten onion.
Then, he restored her, letting her grasp the full reality of how he had broken her mind, body, and soul. When he was satisfied she understood, he took her apart again, over and over, stretching through a thousand eternities, until torment and madness were all she knew and she craved them like mother's milk.
And she loved him for it.
She noticed, though, that no matter what he did to her, he always left her will intact. He never took her mind from her completely, instead choosing to mar it through atrocity and violation. Though deformed forever, if not in appearance then in spirit and mind, she was still herself. She was still Creation's savior. She was still mother to a Realm of malcontents and fiends.
She was still an Empress.
Twisted and warped as they were, her thoughts often turned back to her true love: Creation. All the work and effort she had spent molding and whipping it into a relative peace fostering moderate prosperity. The years of her elongated life spent craving more power to keep Creation's enemies satiated. It was all in vain. Now she would spend the rest of eternity in torment and misery. Death would never be a luxury granted to her, she knew.
As Ligier, the green sun, baked her torn and used flesh, she felt her Master approaching. The intimate connection she shared with him no longer felt foreign as it stirred an ecstatic dread deep within her heart. Chained to a high tower of mutated flesh and bronze, she looked over the demon-city below, hoping to glimpse him approaching as the smell of rent sinew and burning blood filled her nostrils. But she only saw teaming masses of demons in the corrupt streets and buildings that stretched beneath her.
Then, she felt him coiling around her body until she was plunged into an inky darkness that tasted and smelled of bile. The only sound she heard was her own ragged breathing and cold burned her skin. She couldn't see him, but she felt him slowly molesting her mind.
Before her, in the shadows, a green ichor began glowing as it bubbled and spirt out of a cauldron. Behind it, the massive face of her Master took shape. She felt nauseated as she looked upon his maligned horns and whiskers. His eyes of hellfire bored into her soul like a serrated knife.
His vast maw opened revealing hell itself in his throat. His voice peeled her skin away as he spoke, his tone low and echoing. With each word, the laughter of a thousand demons rang out in infernal harmony. "My infinitely damned Wife," he began, "The time for your use is upon us. The preparations for your infliction upon Creation have been made. We are ready. You shall step into the world and rend its rotten flesh free, exposing it to the glorious corruption of Hell. Rejoice in your gift, for this task is my labor. I shall assign you the finest Green Sun Princes as your honor guard and you shall begin the Reclaimation!"
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Premise
The gods have erred. As the most favored champions of titans, it is your mission to rectify the problem of Creation. But you will not be the only ones who will decide the ultimate fate of Creation, for two grand powers are at work here: Green Sun Princes, demon-heroes of the Yozis; and Deathknights, world-killers of the Neverborn. Assuming the role of these Primordial Exalted, you will either reclaim or destroy Creation in the most grand service of your titanic masters.
But it is in the nature of the Exalted Host to define their own destinies, not only Creation's.
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In Crossed Spears of Eschaton, the players will take the role of champions among the Exalted -- of rage and of destruction. Beginning as the most powerful and influential midst their peers, you will be given a profound task. But this will not be easy, if only because you will be the unknown variables of each other.
Crossed Spears of Eschaton will be a parallel game. One side will feature the Green Sun Princes as the protagonists of the story; the other, the Deathknights. Broadly synchronizing their actions and influence upon the world, their actions will perhaps affect the course of each others plans. Nothing is certain, as is the case of most Exalt's futures. But one truly is -- should both sides come close to their ultimate goal, there will be conflict.
Player characters will start play with a vast amount of experience and resources, befitting the station of the most favored champions of the titans. The Infernals shall receive the mission of enacting the Reclamation -- the Abyssals shall be tasked with the ultimate and total destruction of Creation. How will they achieve such grand plans? It is all up to the choices they make.
Game System Information:
Exalted is a game of heroic and villainous demi-gods putting their fingerprint on their world, called Creation, by channeling Essence–an energy that flows through everything and binds it together. Using this energy, the Exalted can achieve jaw-dropping and unbelievable feats. Because of this, the game ranges from nail-biting social conflict to pulse-driving movie-like combat scenes. So grab your daiklave and head into a world of ghosts, demons, and Gods.
Further information for Exalted can be found at White-Wolf's website.
Game Requirements:
- Exalted 2nd edition core rulebook. Please be versed in the Exalted rules. If you are not, we're happy to work with you.
- Exalted 2.5 Errata "Scroll of Errata"
- Manual of Exalted Power: Abyssals OR Manual of Exalted Power: Infernals
Game House Rules:
House Rules
Craft
All Craft abilities are now a single Craft. This means that Craft grants equal aptitude with blacksmithing, agriculture, architecture etc.
When rolling Craft for Esoteric crafts, they are limited by a single other ability, listed below:
Magitech: Lore
Genesis: Medicine
Fate: Occult
Glamour: Occult
Crafting small items roll Perception, crafting large items roll Intelligence.
Charms
Every purchase of a charm in a tree grants a free Excellency from that tree. Excellency requirements for charms CAN be met by the free Excellency gained after purchasing a charm.
The following charms grant a single free Ox-Body purchase, capped by your Essence. All Ox-Body purchases are capped by Essence rather than the old limit. Hardy charms either grant a single ox-body OR an excellency, chosen when the charm is taken.
Abyssals
Restless As The Dead
Corpse Needs No Food
Breathless Ghost Emulation
Cadaverous Torpor Technique
Plague Knows Its Master
Injury-Absorbing Discipline
Spirit-Hardened Frame
Wounds Mean Nothing
Maelstrom-Weathering Indifference
World-Denying Invincibility
Plague-Eating Kiss
Black Heart's Venom
Malfeas
By Pain Reforged
Nightmare Fugue Vigilance
By Agony Empowered
The King Still Stands
Driven Beyond Death
By Hunger Nourished
Blight Internalization Transcendence
By Rage Recast
Devil-Tyrant Avatar Shintai
Invulnerable Wounding Futility
Abalation of Brass and Fire
Scar-Writ Saga Shield
Viridian Legend Exoskeleton
Demon Emperor Shintai
Skyfire-Seizing Repast
Sun-Heart Furnace Soul
Rage-Stoked Inferno Soul
She Who Lives in Her Name
Ego-Infused Pattern Primacy (including each repurchase)
Wholeness Rightly Assumed (including each repurchase)
Force-Suppression Barrier
Heuristic Logos Shintai
Cecelyne
Transcendant Desert Creature
Soul-Sand Devil Shintai
Adorjan
Unbound Freedom Infiltration
Splintered Gale Shintai
Running To Forever
Murder Is Meat
Sacred Kamilla's Inhalation
Hateful Wretched Noise
Kimbery
Mother Sea Mastery
Fathomless Poison Haven
Tidal Renewal Discipline
Sea Dissolves Herself
Sea Within Veins Prana
Great Mother's Tears
All-Devouring Depths Shintai
Bitter Heart Unbleeding
Combos
Combos work as written in the core rules and errata, except that all reflexive charms the character possesses are assumed to be automatically combo'ed in any charm activation.
Backgrounds
Backgrounds may only be acquired through roleplaying after character creation. Backgrounds gained in play default to being Free Backgrounds. Free Backgrounds are subject to the whims of the story and can be lost easily. During play, the player can spend 3xp per dot to make them Fixed Backgrounds. Fixed Backgrounds, while not immutable, possess a degree of protection against plot events and will typically not be lost easily.
Character Creation Information:
Please use the character creation rules as written in the "Manual of Exalted Power: Abyssals" or "Manual of Exalted Power: Infernals" books with the above "House Rules" and the following changes:
Ink Monkeys Charms may be used and are considered canon.
Craft
All Craft abilities are now a single Craft. This means that Craft grants equal aptitude with blacksmithing, agriculture, architecture etc.
When rolling Craft for Esoteric crafts, they are limited by a single other ability, listed below:
Magitech: Lore
Genesis: Medicine
Fate: Occult
Glamour: Occult
Crafting small items roll Perception, crafting large items roll Intelligence.
Charms
Every purchase of a charm in a tree grants a free Excellency from that tree. Excellency requirements for charms CAN be met by the free Excellency gained after purchasing a charm.
The following charms grant a single free Ox-Body purchase, capped by your Essence. All Ox-Body purchases are capped by Essence rather than the old limit. Hardy charms either grant a single ox-body OR an excellency, chosen when the charm is taken.
Abyssals
Restless As The Dead
Corpse Needs No Food
Breathless Ghost Emulation
Cadaverous Torpor Technique
Plague Knows Its Master
Injury-Absorbing Discipline
Spirit-Hardened Frame
Wounds Mean Nothing
Maelstrom-Weathering Indifference
World-Denying Invincibility
Plague-Eating Kiss
Black Heart's Venom
Malfeas
By Pain Reforged
Nightmare Fugue Vigilance
By Agony Empowered
The King Still Stands
Driven Beyond Death
By Hunger Nourished
Blight Internalization Transcendence
By Rage Recast
Devil-Tyrant Avatar Shintai
Invulnerable Wounding Futility
Abalation of Brass and Fire
Scar-Writ Saga Shield
Viridian Legend Exoskeleton
Demon Emperor Shintai
Skyfire-Seizing Repast
Sun-Heart Furnace Soul
Rage-Stoked Inferno Soul
She Who Lives in Her Name
Ego-Infused Pattern Primacy (including each repurchase)
Wholeness Rightly Assumed (including each repurchase)
Force-Suppression Barrier
Heuristic Logos Shintai
Cecelyne
Transcendant Desert Creature
Soul-Sand Devil Shintai
Adorjan
Unbound Freedom Infiltration
Splintered Gale Shintai
Running To Forever
Murder Is Meat
Sacred Kamilla's Inhalation
Hateful Wretched Noise
Kimbery
Mother Sea Mastery
Fathomless Poison Haven
Tidal Renewal Discipline
Sea Dissolves Herself
Sea Within Veins Prana
Great Mother's Tears
All-Devouring Depths Shintai
Bitter Heart Unbleeding
Combos
Combos work as written in the core rules and errata, except that all reflexive charms the character possesses are assumed to be automatically combo'ed in any charm activation.
Backgrounds
Backgrounds may only be acquired through roleplaying after character creation. Backgrounds gained in play default to being Free Backgrounds. Free Backgrounds are subject to the whims of the story and can be lost easily. During play, the player can spend 3xp per dot to make them Fixed Backgrounds. Fixed Backgrounds, while not immutable, possess a degree of protection against plot events and will typically not be lost easily.
Character Creation Information:
Please use the character creation rules as written in the "Manual of Exalted Power: Abyssals" or "Manual of Exalted Power: Infernals" books with the above "House Rules" and the following changes:
- Maximum Essence 5
- +100 XP
- Free Bonus Health Levels:
+3 (0-level) Health Levels.
- +3 (-1-level) Health Levels.
- +2 (-2-level) Health Levels.
- +1 (-4-level) Health Level.
- Merits and Flaws are NOT ALLOWED.
Ink Monkeys Charms may be used and are considered canon.
the VEE Charms from Cecylene and long to play a 'May your wish be granted' style genie and corrupter in the Realm.
