First time lunar character creation advice

[Darkling]

I am rather new to the exalted system, to the point that I have played no more than ten sessions or so over a few months with our dm. Well my Solar got killed and because of the story setup a lunar character would be the best new character to introduce. Bearing in mind when creating my solar zenith the storyteller helped a lot but now I am sort of left to my own devices in creating this lunar one. Most of my previous experience really falls under D&D, so this is kind of different. Without trying to ramble on to long my original idea was to create an archer, since there currently a gap in party in that respects. Looking through manual of exalted power lunars shows that not going to be easy. My fallback is a stealth fighter who can at least shoot but also fight up close, something akin to a D&D ranger.


Problem is I am not really sure what are good charms or the like for that kind of setup, so I am looking for advice really from more experienced players on good options. If it helps the rest of the party PC party are solars and there one other lunar casteless at the moment, which this character does not have to be since i am going to be a later edition to the group. I have the starting creation points and 30 general xp to spend. Thats about it really.

 

[Cryoseraph]

First off, be forewarned that Lunars are on a slightly lower power curve than Solars, so they will eventually lag behind in overall power as their Bonus Point costs and Experience costs are higher than those costs of Solars.


Secondly, to feel the power of a useful Lunar (mechanically at least), you have to take a little focus on what their powers are good at. The big three for them (as I see it) are: Shapeshifting variety via Knacks, Deadly Beastman Transformation Knack (or DBT for short) and Gift Charms, and Relentless Lunar Fury and Fury-OK Charms. The latter two are combat-focused obviously, while shapeshifting has some combat options, but works better for disguises and stealth ideas.


Ranged combat is good, but not as strongly supported by Lunar powers. The trick is to carefully read the charms, mostly those in the Dexterity and/or Wits branches. If they say they help an attack, without specifying melee, then they can also be applied to ranged attacks. Lunars can also have good stylistic Thrown weapons too. In fact, if you pick an animal that spits or has quill-like bits to them, you could take DBT with a mutation built in involving acid spit or shooting quills or something. The important thing about building your DBT War Form is to read up on any and every mutation you can find in any book, and also remember you get only the positive sides to them, not the negatives.


Now, to benefit fully from DBT or Relentless Lunar Fury takes a good Essence stat. Essence is expensive for Lunars, so that whatever you take, be prepared to stick with it for awhile, as improving the basics takes a lot of XP.


All that aside, Lunars are tons of fun, and can easily outshine Solars with a little creativity and forethought. The difference is Solars can adapt easier as people, while Lunars are forced into more animalistic ways to adapt (fight/flight is more common than talking it out or puzzle-solving for them). Hope these points of note help some.

 

[Darkling]

I should point out that I have access to the corebook 2ed and the manual of exalted powers lunars. I have seen in my brief search of the internet that some suggest its not a good idea to increase essence yet since as it will take a big chunk of my bonus points that could be put to other areas. On the other side some of the better charms that I could take require essence 3 or more, also I could go up to 3 essence maybe 4 if have a good reason for the ST.


edit - The storyteller has access to a series of books of top of my head I am not sure which other than the scroll of the monk

 

[Darkling]

this is my preliminary character so bear that in mind and only using starting points


Full Moon


Str - 4


Dex- 5


Sta - 3


Per - 4


Int - 2


Wits - 3


Cha - 3


Man - 2


App - 2


Athletics - 3 , Awareness - 2, Dodge - 3, Martial Arts (Could be melee would require some changes) - 3, Resistance - 2, Thrown - 5, Linguistics - 1, Stealth - 3, Survival - 3, Lore 1


Essence - 3, Compassion -1, Conviction -2, Temperance - 4 (still debating if its going to be primary virtue) Valour - 2


Charms so far as


first dexterity excellency, second stamina excellency, third strength excellency, claws of the silver moon, bruise relief method, relentless lunar furry, deadly beastman transformation, impress of strength


thinking of adding wasp sting blur, twin fang up to lightning strike stroke attack in the future character development. Not sure what defensive charms to take, other than that still working on it besides possible mentor and blood hunt background both at 2.

 

[Mr. S]

This seems very combat focused. As such I think I'd advise you to spend a few BP on specialties and maybe not as much on charms. I also can't help but notice you didn't go with any knacks at all (DBT excepted). That's totally okay, but it makes me wonder what your animal form is.

 

[Darkling]

In truth i am not sure how they would apply across the board, never player a lunar before but they seem like they cover specific scenarios. At leasts thats the way they seem maybe its just me. As my previous solar only had one specialty later meaning I am open to suggestions. Like I said stealth abilities would be good but other than the maybe humble mouse shape to be able to turn into smaller animals and hide. I could see hybrid body rearrangement as a possible maybe just would have be creative in its execution. Our storyteller is good at what he does but sometimes he has habit of forgetting this is a new system to me and the others in our group since he plays as a PC with a more experienced group himself, so some of the stuff thrown at us lacks explanation.


The purpose of this is so i can create a decent lunar who can keep up with everyone, sure I could muddle through and possible get there but input is always good in this case. As for true form i was thinking something bird related and also I do have 30 xp outside of character creation to use up as well, this is just using my starting points so far. Cannot really think of much else to add to all this so see what suggestions come along.

 

[Mr. S]

I guess my only concern is that you might feel like you're having a hard time doing stuff when not in combat. The best solution to this is really just having a well developed character. That can be hard to do when you're new to a system, so you'll need to probably have some help working on a backstory and making a personality from your ST. You should looking into synergies between your abilities and background points maybe?


Oh, also, I thought it was a good idea going with Martial Arts instead of Melee, as any animal form you use will probably be using that.

 

[Ledaal Kajiri]

Working on some defense beyond just 1st Dexterity Excellency might be beneficial. Generally, Excellency alone is...a quick route to death for most characters. Frequently, it's better to focus a bit more on your defense before offense. Exalted is NOT a place where the best defense is your opponent bleeding on the ground. Because, well...you have to be still living when that happens. Hiding behind Excellency alone is likely to be a quick road to death by say, Heroic Mortals with a Heroic Mortal leader that knows to Coordinate their attacks. Much less the first Exalted opponent...or even Enlightened Mortal with a damaging weapon.


Of course, I'm paranoid. But is it paranoia when they ARE out to get you, slay you, and bask in the lamentations of your women? Or men, as the case may be.

 

[magnificentmomo]

Errata'd Hybrid Body Rearrangement is awesome if you have a decent Heart's Library.