Exalted III: Poorly-Named Game

[Sanctaphrax]

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Introduce yourself, talk about your character ideas, and tell us what sort of game you're looking for. Also, if you want to tweak the rules, now's the time. Leading off: I'm Philippe. I go by Sanctaphrax here and on some other forums. I'm going to be the Storyteller for this game, since it looks like nobody else wants to. I'm not too picky about characters, but I do insist that nobody be an evil monster. I'm expecting Solar characters, but if one of you wants to use one of the whole-splat homebrews maybe we can swing that. I'm fond of strange and otherworldly settings, so I'd like to set the game somewhere interesting. Maybe on the very edge of Creation, where the Wyld leaks in. I'm not in love with any of the canon locations, so unless there's one that really inspires one of you I plan to come up with somewhere new. For rules tweaks...the main thing is that I don't want to use Craft as written. I dislike the canonical system so much that I rewrote it wholesale. If you want to Craft, use the rewrite. <a href="http://forum.theonyxpath.com/forum/main-category/exalted/797631-why-craft-sucks-how-i-fixed-it" rel="external nofollow">Which you can find here.</a> Also, let's pretend Celestial Bliss Trick and Fate-Shifting Solar Arete don't exist.


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[JayTee]

Is this open for anyone? I'm a big fan of otherworldly locations and I've been hoping for a game in the the Dreaming Sea (or elsewhere (but not Elsewhere)) for a while.

 

[ElIis]

[chants for Ysyr]


Somebody already took the name Ellis on this forum, so I've resorted to a cunning ruse, but it's the same me from the official Exalted forums. I'm thinking sorcerer, or possibly Night spy, but I'm not wedded to either concept.

 

[Flimflamberge]

Hi! I'm someone from the internet who Philippe invited. (We're mutuals on tumblr and met on the official Exalted forums a long while ago.)


Uh... the character idea I'm most inclined to is an Eclipse who was an astrologer from Urim. Combination weird mystic and stuffy bureaucrat.

 

[JayTee]

As someone who's been on the site since before it was actually this site, I feel I should welcome all the newcomers. Welcome!


If we're pitching character concepts, I've always been fond of the classic, power hungry Sorcerer that pulp fantasy gives us as the inevitable bad guy, so I'd probably go for a Twilight Sorcerer.

 

[Sanctaphrax]

Is this open for anyone?

It's specifically intended for a few people that I invited, but other people are welcome too. And I liked having you in my DFRPG group, so I figure it'll be good to have you here too.

[chants for Ysyr]
Somebody already took the name Ellis on this forum, so I've resorted to a cunning ruse, but it's the same me from the official Exalted forums.

I dunno about Ysyr. I don't dislike it, but it's basically just a city.


Nice trick with the name. Since you clearly knew about this game without being on the forum already...are you one of the people I invited? heedra, maybe?

I'm thinking sorcerer, or possibly Night spy, but I'm not wedded to either concept.

Uh... the character idea I'm most inclined to is an Eclipse who was an astrologer from Urim. Combination weird mystic and stuffy bureaucrat.

If we're pitching character concepts, I've always been fond of the classic, power hungry Sorcerer that pulp fantasy gives us as the inevitable bad guy, so I'd probably go for a Twilight Sorcerer.

Looks like a bunch of mystics...actually, that could be an interesting premise for the game. You guys could be a conclave of sorcerers who've gathered to share knowledge and power.


Sorcery in this edition is broad enough that the overlap probably won't be a problem. Though we might need to write some more spells.

 

[ElIis]

I like to keep an air of mystique, so I'll just say that I intend to have... close relationships with the Dragons. Affectionate relationships. Intimate, even.


Hmm.......let's all pretend Shen doesn't exist for a moment so I can yank his sorcerer-spy concept for a Night Mara initiate... yes.......

 

[Sanctaphrax]

Heh. You know, you come across pretty differently off Tumblr.

 

[JayTee]

It's specifically intended for a few people that I invited, but other people are welcome too. And I liked having you in my DFRPG group, so I figure it'll be good to have you here too.

Oh, well thank you for the invite, then! The DFRPG game you ran was a lot of fun, so I'm glad for another chance to game with you.


In the spirit of getting started, are there any special rules for character creation, beyond what you've mentioned? I'm debating porting over a preexisting sorcerer from another game for the sake of simplicity (and because it's fun watching the same character play out in different scenarios).

 

[Heedra]

Heyo, Heedra here! My name's Lydia, and this is the first time I've ever done any online, play-by-post tabletop, so I might be a bit unfamiliar with things at first.


As far as character ideas go, I also had a concept for a Twilight in mind, though it was kinda a complicated concept so I might go with something else. That particular concept was young, optimistic Twilight craftswoman with a specific canon character as a past life, but idk how kosher that is. Im def gonna think of some other concepts as well, I don't have anything too solid in mind yet.

 

[ElIis]

Heh. You know, you come across pretty differently off Tumblr.

If I was like that here I'd be banished and/or elected king within a week.


How do we feel about porting 2e? I'd quite like to have Theft of Memory but i could make do with Mists of Eventide or Corrupted Words.

 

[Sanctaphrax]

In the spirit of getting started, are there any special rules for character creation, beyond what you've mentioned? I'm debating porting over a preexisting sorcerer from another game for the sake of simplicity (and because it's fun watching the same character play out in different scenarios).

No special rules. I'm tempted to do something about the BP/xp disparity, but I don't want to make things complicated. I could change directions on that one if y'all want to avoid bean-counting BS.


Feel free to port that guy over, but we won't be using the chargen houserules from that game. And of course you'll have to start with a starting character.

As far as character ideas go, I also had a concept for a Twilight in mind, though it was kinda a complicated concept so I might go with something else. That particular concept was young, optimistic Twilight craftswoman with a specific canon character as a past life, but idk how kosher that is. Im def gonna think of some other concepts as well, I don't have anything too solid in mind yet.

Sounds good to me. Why wouldn't it be kosher?

How do we feel about porting 2e? I'd quite like to have Theft of Memory but i could make do with Mists of Eventide or Corrupted Words.

We could update Theft Of Memory. Probably won't have to change much.

 

[JayTee]

Hm, well we seem to have a lot of Sorcerers, so I might go for a Dawn warrior-philosopher instead. Would you allow me to swap out one of my Dawn abilities for Athletics?

 

[ElIis]

I thought we were going for a sorcery group? Might be fun. If not I can always take sorcery out.

 

[JayTee]

Redundancy among PCs bugs me a little bit, especially when I feel like I'm stepping on other people's toes when it comes to character concepts.


That said, I don't mind picking up a spell or two with my Dawn, if we're going for a theme. Probably support or utility spells, rather than a combat spells.

 

[Flimflamberge]

I should probably point out that my character concept doesn't require sorcery. It may lend itself to it, but it's absolutely not necessary to get across what I wanna do. I can just as easily play up the the bureaucratic side and focus the mystical stuff on mundane astrology and interaction with spirits.


Which is all still good for a mystical conclave type thing, just means we can be slightly more diverse.

 

[JayTee]

Naw it's fine, don't mind me. I was just noticing that we had a lot of overlap so I was going to go for a Dawn to try and diversify our group a bit. Especially since we didn't seem to have a "hard" combatant in the party yet.

 

[Sanctaphrax]

Thinking a bit about our setting...how about a semi-isolated island in the far West? The only inhabitable land within a hundred miles, and a very profitable destination for people seeking to collect the wonders of the Wyld. For whatever reason the island itself is unwarped, but the surrounding seas are Bordermarches and very dangerous.


The island's population has increased enormously over the past few years, as a Dragonblooded sea-captain managed to chart a safe-ish route to the island. They took a few brave Guild members out there; half died, the other half became rich. When they returned home, the news spread and a gold rush of sorts started. Almost everyone here is seeking their fortune.


You guys might be here for riches and power, or to get away from the Realm.


A game set on this island would be full of exploration and weird mystical crap. Politics and combat would feature to the extent you want them to; the island is full of politics as people try to sort themselves out without a real government, while the surrounding seas are full of monsters to fight.


How's that sound?


If it doesn't grab you, that's fine. We can try something else.

Hm, well we seem to have a lot of Sorcerers, so I might go for a Dawn warrior-philosopher instead. Would you allow me to swap out one of my Dawn abilities for Athletics?

I don't think so. I'm trying to save the house-ruling for important stuff, at least for now.

 

[ElIis]

Ooh, yes. I can definitely work with politics and doubly so with mystic crap.


Also, full disclosure, I did just marathon Pirates of the Caribbean, so that is a vibe I am feeling the heck out of.

 

[Heedra]

There's no real reason it wouldn't be Kosher, I've just had DM's who weren't fond of having pc's with canon connections in the past, so I wanted to double check. The canon character in question she'd be connected to via having the same shard would be Eye and Seven.


If we already got someone interested in a Twillight, Im def willing to run with other concepts to avoid caste overlap. Im pretty darn flexible here and honestly could have fun playing any caste, I love this game and I love designing characters for it.


Also, I'd be down for that proposed setting. I've never played anything in the West!

 

[JayTee]

Re: Setting - The West sounds like it could be fun. Most of my games have been in the East or South, so a change of scenery would be nice


Re: Character - Alrighty, I guess if others are okay with it I can be the Twilight Sorcerer.


Just be clear, I'm not stepping on anyone's toes, am I? I'm fine with the Dawn, and don't want to influence others in to playing something their second choice of characters.

 

[Sanctaphrax]

I don't think Caste overlap matters. Charm and ability overlap is a potential problem, but from the looks of it Heedra will probably have Supernal Craft and JayTee will probably have Supernal Lore.


Anyway, it seems like people like the setting. Some NPC ideas:


-Vatharia, the goddess of the island. Looks like a giant frog. Self-important and demands worship, but pretty generous with miracles. Hopes to use the influx of people to her island to become a big-deal god with an important domain. Almost certainly knows why the island is protected from the Wyld, but isn't talking.


-Orthon, Vatharia's friend and a powerful earth elemental. Looks like a giant snake with human arms. Lazy and gluttonous, but actually pretty smart and powerful. Will sometimes do people favours in exchange for meat; seafood is abundant here, but Orthon doesn't like it. People are nervous about him because he happily eats dead people when given the chance and there's not much that could stop him if he started going after the living.


-Eremar the Eleventh, oldest mortal on the island. Eremar's son and two daughters came here to make their fortunes, and Eremar felt he had to come and keep them out of trouble. He doesn't talk about his past, but he's got a surprisingly deep and broad set of knowledge and skills.


-Red Wire, a Guildswoman originally from the Blessed Isle. Almost suicidally brave, a skilled merchant, and resourceful enough to survive the crazy things she does. Aims to become a factor, will stop at little to do so.


Feel free to propose more NPCs. Writing up your character sheet is probably more urgent though.

 

[ElIis]

i uh. may have. written up two whole character sheets already


What's the living situation like on this island (which, by the way, what's the name of the island)? Is it a bunch of villages or one big town, etc?

 

[Sanctaphrax]

Post 'em, then.


And I haven't decided. Feel free to suggest something.

 

[ElIis]

Brightest Morning Star, a sorcerer of sunfire, and Nobody, a revolutionary thief, for your comfort and convenience.