Infernals are lame.

A

Arklaed

New Member
I closed MoEP: Infernals an hour ago and i can't stop thinking about it. Infernals hardly live to their hype, they are just plain comic villians. Where Abyssals and even Alchemicals are worthy antagonists, characters created with some elegance, Infernals are plain evil-doers inmersed in a pointless "conquer of the world" (ffs, they dont even have a Charisma trait!). A world already overrun with Solars, Lunars, miriads of Terrestrials, Abyssals, Sidereals and the Celestial Hierarchy, Faeries, Alchemicals, Gods and Demigods, Demons, behemoths, kaos denizens and a huge etc.


Whats the point on Infernals? Wich part of the Exalted world needed to be filled with this characters? What make them "special"? I think my dollars where swallowed by the greedy WW, a company that knew how many fans where waiting for this book and throw them this bone.


Meh. And sorry for my bad english, this isn't my main language.
 
One of the "purpose" behind the design of Infernals might be to occupy the Yozis' angle. If you look at the various realms of reality in Exalted, they usually have at least one playable character type associated with them. Having PC types deeply connected with such places allow the players to explore that realm's world and expand the setting as a whole. Before this book, the only space not filled out with a PC type was Malfeas. So yeah.


Furthermore, I have to think that the angle of villainy the Infernals presents is actually revolutionary for Exalted. Most other villains are supposed to be "misunderstood" and well-meaning extremists who are/or elegant and deserving of respect. You can't really go "RAARGH MIRTHLESS MAIDEN ANGRY ABYSSAL SMASH" without breaking the setting. Contrast to this, the Infernals, as presented, are petty, hatable monsters. Being angry all the time, gloating over how hard they are going to kill the DBs and such weren't really an option before their introduction. In this, I'll say that they are a massive addition to Exalted's setting.


Also, do note that changing their simplistic nature is one of the plot threads provided by the book.
 
*shrugs* I've already statted out a Malefactor who ISN'T all super-evil. Mostly. He's operating down in the desert doing a whole Muad'Dib thing, creating a revolutionary cult-movement called The Haj that is going to (eventually) destroy the rule of the Tri-Khan. His motivation is that he genuinely believes people are better if they have to survive in harsh environments, darwinist kind of deal. So he's going to come out of the desert like a sandstorm on crack and tear the whole thing down and free the desert tribes of the Tri-Khan's 'soft rule'. The fact that his Adorjani urge is an obsession with tearing down ruling structures just sort of adds to the fun, because part of him's doing it for vaguely (in his head) altruistic reasons, and part of him's doing it because he simply has to. He's going to make Creation a better place for everyone. Everyone that survives, anyway. And he believes in bringing back the Yozi because they (Cecylene in particular) are not only the natural rulers, they'll also make humanity better through suffering. He's got quite high compassion, really...


Also, he's an Infernal Monster stylist. And frankly Infernal Monster brings the pain like nothing else.


So, basically, Infernals aren't lame. They're more caricatured than the other Exalts, sure, but what's wrong with that? Creation's got room for it's four-colour villains, too. And if you don't want your Green Sun Prince 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeevil!' then the book supports that too. Your argument is flawed, sir.
 
I agree, honestly it sounds like the OP just ignored the entire you know..BOOK. Which has tons of stuff for what the GSPs can do. Some of it evil, some of it good. But honestly, beyond the source that motivates them..the evil stuff they can do..EVERY SINGLE EXALT IN THE GAME can be. So that's a moot point.
 
Yeah, I'm psyched about this for the same reasons Quchu stated. Abyssals are emo-angsty villains, DBs are partyhardy we can do what ever we want villains, Lunars are we hate buildings and stuff villains, Fair-folk are we are bizarre alien entity villains, but Infernals are the classic psychopathic, we don't need a reason to do evil things villains. Not necessarily a hard roleplaying experience, but they fill a need and can be quite fun to play.
 
And the cool thing is, they don't even need to do that. They can tell the Yozis to go to hell, reminding them they are made from the very essences that wupped them into submission in the first place. Then run off and take their Primordial powers and go off and do awesome things. Sure limit is still an issue, but heck they still have better ways of dealing with it than your average Solars.


The way Holden put it, were as Abyssals are brooding serious evil. Infernals are weeeeee! evil. And that's fun too. :D
 
I pretty much agree with a lot of the posters here... they fill a niche. I don't think I would enjoy playing one, but they make great villains. I can see how they can either be done in the traditional monocle and handlebar mustache style, or as villains with more complex and not necessarily evil intentions. Actually, my one complaint is something that I have with a lot of exalted... and that is that they really do make things unnecessarily complicated. I appreciate lots of flavor, but holy cow it could benefit from some simplification. As it is, I'm sure I will do what any GM does and pick and choose what I include. After all, you can't possibly include everything. And again, that's more of a general comment then one specifically directed towards the infernals book. It just kind of brought my attention to it again.
 
JadedSmile said:
I appreciate lots of flavor, but holy cow it could benefit from some simplification. As it is, I'm sure I will do what any GM does and pick and choose what I include. After all, you can't possibly include everything. And again, that's more of a general comment then one specifically directed towards the infernals book. It just kind of brought my attention to it again.
Click to expand...
I appreciate being able to pick and choose from a really rich background than to be fed a simple, generic one.
 
I didn't mean to imply that I prefer an oversimplified cardboard cutout of a world or anything like that. Far from it, I really do like the depth that exalted has. But at the same time the constant barrage of terminology can be a little much. If you'd asked me what the technical names of all the demons were, I really couldn't tell you and I doubt I could ever remember them all. Sure, I can remember blood apes and the more down-to-earth names, but it's a little bit of a problem when, for example, they use the technical names to refer to them in Infernals. I would have to constantly look back and forth between glorious divinity and that book. What I'm trying to say is that I really enjoy flavor and detail but there are times when I wish the books were a little more straightforward.
 
Just give it time. Familiarity comes with use; if you run or are in a campaign where demons often make an appearance, the terminology will be slipping off your tongue before you know it.


Think ability and charm names--how long did it take you to pick those up?
 
honestly? I can really only rattle off the names of charms that I use a lot. and I always have to mark down the page numbers they're on. All I was saying is that an overabundance of detail can, after a certain point, be detrimental to good communication. it's like this guy I knew who thought that good stunting meant jamming as many adjectives into his description as possible.


On a lighter note, however, I just read through the infernal charms and I have to say that I love them.
 
Arklaed said:
I closed MoEP: Infernals an hour ago and i can't stop thinking about it. Infernals hardly live to their hype, they are just plain comic villians. Where Abyssals and even Alchemicals are worthy antagonists, characters created with some elegance, Infernals are plain evil-doers inmersed in a pointless "conquer of the world" (ffs, they dont even have a Charisma trait!). A world already overrun with Solars, Lunars, miriads of Terrestrials, Abyssals, Sidereals and the Celestial Hierarchy, Faeries, Alchemicals, Gods and Demigods, Demons, behemoths, kaos denizens and a huge etc.
Whats the point on Infernals? Wich part of the Exalted world needed to be filled with this characters? What make them "special"? I think my dollars where swallowed by the greedy WW, a company that knew how many fans where waiting for this book and throw them this bone.


Meh. And sorry for my bad english, this isn't my main language.
Click to expand...
Yeeah. About that.


I've always been conflicted about the Infernals, and the possible release of an Infernal fatsplat. That being said, Exalted fanboys have been whining about the release of an Infernal fatsplat since [1E], so I hardly think it's fair to bitch about the "greed" of WW (especially since the demand of the market calls for them to supply said content - see where I'm going here? They *are* supposed to be an actual, profit-generating company after all).

Flagg said:
I appreciate being able to pick and choose from a really rich background than to be fed a simple, generic one.
Click to expand...
Agreed.


That said, having opened the book for the first time not an hour ago - glancing through random stuff. I must say that the design of the signature characters are a disappointment (to the extent that I will be completely ignoring them) - Emo-sexnun, Crabhand Mummyface and BuccaneerpantsRobinHood all fails in delivering the feeling that they belong *at all* in the setting (to be fair - I don't like the idea of Cowboy Solar and too much flamepieces in my Exalted. I lean more towards the high *fantasy* end of the spectrum). The Fiend Caste one fails to feel at all distinguishable (well, so far at least - perhaps there will be background fluff that changes my mind).


The only character that doesn't feel like a total bust (yet) is the Slayer Caste char - though suddenly, as I write this, I see the Celtic/Braveheart thing in him. Wonder why I didn't click on that before ... Meh, still find him least offensive.
 
I just want to know what the fuck is up with the character sheet in the back?


Is it some sort of weird prank, or is WW really that sloppy?
 
Flagg said:
I just want to know what the fuck is up with the character sheet in the back?
Is it some sort of weird prank, or is WW really that sloppy?
Click to expand...
Well, seeing as how it's been printed and is being shipped out all over the country, I'm less inclined to believe the former and much more inclined to believe the latter.


Need I mention WW's editing staff - or lack thereof - here?
 
Oh . . . Yikes.


How the hell do you manage that, while working on already established templates?!
 
WW is a social experiment designed to check how far one's lack of editing skills needs to go to completely nullify a game's awesomeness. So far, the fanbase is showing alarming results...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)

Similar threads

Sora No Kami
A vicious dance with death (RP 1x1 based on the song "My R") TW: Self-loathing, Suicune
Replies
1
Views
93
Sora No Kami
Sora No Kami
Back
Top