MrSerious
Posting Addict
My original concept wouldn't work in this scenario... Will have to come up with something else.
[Interest Check] Crafting Madness
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Feantari
Water Sprite
Any special rules for thaumaturgy?
Reaver
One Thousand Club
Well as I said earlier I have two ideas. The first is basically a man who believes in two undeniable truths. The ends justify the means and humans must evolve to be able to survive. Basically it's a doctor who is out to change humanity whether they like it or not. Compassion 1 Conviction 5 to give you an idea. The thing is that in public he acts the hero for he knows that his kind are persecuted. Thus all his experiments are either carefully hidden or done in such a way that they won't be seen as evil.
The other is no where as dark. It was the soldier I made for CW's recent game. The thing is that he originally was an engineer. Awakened essence and a talented smith. Moved onto magitech when his essence awoke and was actually part of the team caring for the warstriders when he exalted. Doesn't trust demons or elementals much prefers automatons as you know what they will do. As you programmed them to do what you wanted to do. Big things about him is he loves his home, even though they cast him to the winds he loves it. That and he has some memories of before and in his past life was one of the major people for don't use artifacts of the dead.
Out of those two it comes down to what people want to do. I'd personally prefer the second but that's if the group wants to be hero's. If they are more looking at anti-hero's then the first would be perfect. Not to mention gives us a doctor and someone who can "upgrade" populaces to face dangers.
The other is no where as dark. It was the soldier I made for CW's recent game. The thing is that he originally was an engineer. Awakened essence and a talented smith. Moved onto magitech when his essence awoke and was actually part of the team caring for the warstriders when he exalted. Doesn't trust demons or elementals much prefers automatons as you know what they will do. As you programmed them to do what you wanted to do. Big things about him is he loves his home, even though they cast him to the winds he loves it. That and he has some memories of before and in his past life was one of the major people for don't use artifacts of the dead.
Out of those two it comes down to what people want to do. I'd personally prefer the second but that's if the group wants to be hero's. If they are more looking at anti-hero's then the first would be perfect. Not to mention gives us a doctor and someone who can "upgrade" populaces to face dangers.
MrSerious
Posting Addict
I have no desire to play a non-Solar in this game (for once 
) but someone is bound to ask this question - will this be a Solars only game or will the other 'Twilightoids' from other Solar tier splats be welcome? (Abyssal/Infernal)
) but someone is bound to ask this question - will this be a Solars only game or will the other 'Twilightoids' from other Solar tier splats be welcome? (Abyssal/Infernal)
gatherer818
One Thousand Club
A few quick questions while I narrow down my concepts... Merits and Flaws? I find that many STs shun them entirely, but they usually help me flesh out my character's personality. Do you prefer to limit starting Essence scores?
Edit: Oh right, I forgot. The old 1e Sorcery background. It hasn't been reprinted that I'm aware of in any 2e book, so I'd completely understand ignoring it, but in a circle of Twilights, it bears mentioning. It gives one free Terrestrial Circle Spell for each of the first three points, and a free Terrestrial or Celestial Circle Spell for each of the fourth and fifth. What do you think? I'm building a few of my concepts to see which ones I really latch onto, you know?
....I may have one more big question for you later, if this one concept doesn't leave me be, but I'll save it for if I can't get it out of my head.
Edit2: Made my favorite. Now known only as Uncle Jonathan, having abandoned his family name to represent his belonging to the overall family of humanity instead. As a teen on a rural farm, he learned to treat wounds and such to help out around his town after their healer died. He found he enjoyed it more than anything and began to devour any information he could find on medicine. He learned to read and began studying first age ruins to see if he could locate lost medical techniques or implements, and began studying the crafts as a way to emulate those things he did manage to find, or repair any lost medical tools he turned up. He also began learning martial arts during this time, to defend himself from any creatures he happened across - although he used a guide to locate the ruins, many wouldn't enter with him. His search furthered his medical knowledge quite a bit, but he never happened across anything revolutionary until he entered what he thought was most likely the most disappointing ruin yet. The small, modest tomb had puzzles instead of traps, and the guardians didn't activate against those who solved them. After bypassing the first few puzzles, he realized he was copying medical techniques - getting this key reminding him of removing an embedded arrowhead, finding the right alchemical mixture to melt this lock followed rules more similar to finding the right medicine to remove a disease. Once he penetrated the innermost chamber, he found recorded in the old script several things he knew would change the way he viewed the world forever.
One was knowledge of the workings of the human body more accurate than anything he'd yet seen, possibly rivaling the knowledge kept by the highest Exalted doctors of the Realm. One was a method of combining magical artifacts with medical technology to create Exalted healing tools. One was a martial art form that focused on defending oneself and others and bringing a peaceful, harmless end to the conflict. And the one that shook his foundation to the core was the knowledge that mankind was once capable of modifying themselves to resist diseases, or modifying diseases not to harm them. With the very basics of magitech and biogenesis taking root in his mind, he dedicated himself to preserving health and happiness for everyone, everywhere. As he did so, the interior of the tomb was lit as if by flame. He searched for a few moments for the source, but it seemed to be himself. The Anathema - the Unclean - that lay in the tomb had been reborn at long last. He remembered from a glimpse of building this tomb himself a secret compartment, and pulled a few objects from it. Then he walked out, where his guide promptly panicked at the sight of what he thought was just a superstition the Realm folk had, the Anathema.... (tbc)
Edit: Oh right, I forgot. The old 1e Sorcery background. It hasn't been reprinted that I'm aware of in any 2e book, so I'd completely understand ignoring it, but in a circle of Twilights, it bears mentioning. It gives one free Terrestrial Circle Spell for each of the first three points, and a free Terrestrial or Celestial Circle Spell for each of the fourth and fifth. What do you think? I'm building a few of my concepts to see which ones I really latch onto, you know?
....I may have one more big question for you later, if this one concept doesn't leave me be, but I'll save it for if I can't get it out of my head.
Edit2: Made my favorite. Now known only as Uncle Jonathan, having abandoned his family name to represent his belonging to the overall family of humanity instead. As a teen on a rural farm, he learned to treat wounds and such to help out around his town after their healer died. He found he enjoyed it more than anything and began to devour any information he could find on medicine. He learned to read and began studying first age ruins to see if he could locate lost medical techniques or implements, and began studying the crafts as a way to emulate those things he did manage to find, or repair any lost medical tools he turned up. He also began learning martial arts during this time, to defend himself from any creatures he happened across - although he used a guide to locate the ruins, many wouldn't enter with him. His search furthered his medical knowledge quite a bit, but he never happened across anything revolutionary until he entered what he thought was most likely the most disappointing ruin yet. The small, modest tomb had puzzles instead of traps, and the guardians didn't activate against those who solved them. After bypassing the first few puzzles, he realized he was copying medical techniques - getting this key reminding him of removing an embedded arrowhead, finding the right alchemical mixture to melt this lock followed rules more similar to finding the right medicine to remove a disease. Once he penetrated the innermost chamber, he found recorded in the old script several things he knew would change the way he viewed the world forever.
One was knowledge of the workings of the human body more accurate than anything he'd yet seen, possibly rivaling the knowledge kept by the highest Exalted doctors of the Realm. One was a method of combining magical artifacts with medical technology to create Exalted healing tools. One was a martial art form that focused on defending oneself and others and bringing a peaceful, harmless end to the conflict. And the one that shook his foundation to the core was the knowledge that mankind was once capable of modifying themselves to resist diseases, or modifying diseases not to harm them. With the very basics of magitech and biogenesis taking root in his mind, he dedicated himself to preserving health and happiness for everyone, everywhere. As he did so, the interior of the tomb was lit as if by flame. He searched for a few moments for the source, but it seemed to be himself. The Anathema - the Unclean - that lay in the tomb had been reborn at long last. He remembered from a glimpse of building this tomb himself a secret compartment, and pulled a few objects from it. Then he walked out, where his guide promptly panicked at the sight of what he thought was just a superstition the Realm folk had, the Anathema.... (tbc)
Feantary: Thaumaturgy works as in the books. I haven't had any problems with it yet.
Mr Serious: I figured 'All will play Twilight Caste Solars.' doesn't really leave much room for interpretation. But no, no imitator splats.
gather818: The Sorcery background is not available. Good question on Essence, I'd forgotten that. It's limited to four to start out with. Merits and Flaws require approval.
Mr Serious: I figured 'All will play Twilight Caste Solars.' doesn't really leave much room for interpretation.
But no, no imitator splats.gather818: The Sorcery background is not available. Good question on Essence, I'd forgotten that. It's limited to four to start out with. Merits and Flaws require approval.
gatherer818
One Thousand Club
I ended up using only Merits and Flaws in the concept I decided to run with out of the questions I asked anyway.
Flaws: Weak-willed (2 pts), Farsighted (not currently corrected with lenses), Oathbound (Major 5 pts, total ban on weapon usage, including MA weapons - hands and feet only. Points used to purchase Merit: Paragon of Compassion and Compassion points numbers 5 and 6. His primary virtue - his overriding outlook on the way he should live and behave - suffers should he ever wield an implement to harm rather than heal. Notice that his Compassion forms a major part of his MA style, so this actually directly translates into a penalty to his fighting ability if he uses a weapon, even after he puts the weapon down.)
Merits: Paragon of Compassion.
He'll eventually buy off Weak-Willed by raising his Willpower with experience normally, but he's not currently battle-tested. He has the capability to assert his will on Creation - he wouldn't have been Chosen if he didn't - but he's never had to so beyond occasionally spending Willpower in difficult surgeries, so he's soft at present. He might someday trade healing for glasses for his vision if he ever wanders through Chiaroscuro. He derives his combat style and way of life from his oath, though, and barring any catastrophic changes of outlook stemming from tragedy, will never attempt to buy off the Oathbound flaw. (It's a poorly translated version of "First, do no harm". I felt the 7-point version of Oathbound was a little extreme and wouldn't work well in a group, though, so I simplified it to the 5-point version making it a restriction on weapons rather than never doing damage at all ever.)
Flaws: Weak-willed (2 pts), Farsighted (not currently corrected with lenses), Oathbound (Major 5 pts, total ban on weapon usage, including MA weapons - hands and feet only. Points used to purchase Merit: Paragon of Compassion and Compassion points numbers 5 and 6. His primary virtue - his overriding outlook on the way he should live and behave - suffers should he ever wield an implement to harm rather than heal. Notice that his Compassion forms a major part of his MA style, so this actually directly translates into a penalty to his fighting ability if he uses a weapon, even after he puts the weapon down.)
Merits: Paragon of Compassion.
He'll eventually buy off Weak-Willed by raising his Willpower with experience normally, but he's not currently battle-tested. He has the capability to assert his will on Creation - he wouldn't have been Chosen if he didn't - but he's never had to so beyond occasionally spending Willpower in difficult surgeries, so he's soft at present. He might someday trade healing for glasses for his vision if he ever wanders through Chiaroscuro. He derives his combat style and way of life from his oath, though, and barring any catastrophic changes of outlook stemming from tragedy, will never attempt to buy off the Oathbound flaw. (It's a poorly translated version of "First, do no harm". I felt the 7-point version of Oathbound was a little extreme and wouldn't work well in a group, though, so I simplified it to the 5-point version making it a restriction on weapons rather than never doing damage at all ever.)
Feantari
Water Sprite
Kk, sometimes people change the cost since it can be pretty high for the power level, but we have xp so probably not an issue.Miashara said:
Character incoming this weekend.
happerry
Patternspider Survivor
Hum, need ideas.... Right, where are my video games...
Thinking a former Lookshyan. A mortal Thaumaturgist who was on the warjack repair team, and exalted when he ended having to do a job way out of his limit right now, Or Else. And given the choice between failing and not failing, he tried anyway, and.. well, he had to run away pretty fast.
Thinking a former Lookshyan. A mortal Thaumaturgist who was on the warjack repair team, and exalted when he ended having to do a job way out of his limit right now, Or Else. And given the choice between failing and not failing, he tried anyway, and.. well, he had to run away pretty fast.
gatherer818
One Thousand Club
I never really looked at Thaumaturgy before, but am considering it for the concept I made above. Even with all the extra Procedures from the Codex, it still seems a bit expensive, but not extremely so. It costs about the same as a Charm, but gives an array of lesser potential effects instead of one serious effect. It costs 3 Charms to master a single Art... it does seem like Charm users should probably get a discount on it, because they're almost never as useful as Charms, but I won't complain if you don't change it. I'm sitting on two starting exp from the fifty you gave us to start with, so I might pick up two Procedures from the Art of Alchemy, more as background than for usefulness, although I suppose when we have downtime I can make stuff to minimize my Essence use when it matters later.
Thorn Darkblade
I know lots of things. Lots of things...
Thaumaturgy is strong in some points, weak in others. Exploit enchantment and alchemy to its fullest.
Gather818: Since we're running new Errata'd rules, Weak Willed would only be worth one point per dot of willpower. Farsight wouldn't be available. I'm willing to allow oathbound, but I really do not recommend it. Given how much artifact involvement I expect, I think you would wind up with either a marginalized character or effectively working around it all the time. I'm not sure I'm going to flat out prohibit it yet, but I'd like to see the character first.
gatherer818
One Thousand Club
hrm.... I can't really see freeing up the points, I'll move on to another concept. I notice you hadn't said anything one way or the other about the concept itself thus far, so just disregard it and I'll see about putting together a different one from the few I had in mind.
xD I really did write Farsighted above didn't I? He was meant to be Nearsighted. It's all the same flaw, of course, but rather different applications. I suppose it doesn't matter anyway.
xD I really did write Farsighted above didn't I? He was meant to be Nearsighted. It's all the same flaw, of course, but rather different applications. I suppose it doesn't matter anyway.
I try not to rule one way or another on characters until there's more to them just a sketch. I've seen too many dubious sketches turn into awesome characters and vice versa. I've also seen lots of characters synergize into great groups startlingly well. In general, unless you want to play killgore shitkicker or asshole bob, I'd rather you all wind up playing characters you like than the other way around.
gatherer818
One Thousand Club
Yeah, that's cool. I wasn't 100% happy with where he was at mechanically, but I figured I'd work with it. Losing 9 BP just broke him, I couldn't possibly get him to work in a way that I'd have been happy with after that. I'll save the concept for another game and think up a different one.
I'm assuming, this being a Twilight game, that custom artifacts and/or upgraded artifacts (i.e. - a 3 dot artifact with additional powers being a 4 or 5 dot artifact) are cool as long they're run by you first? I'll make a slightly more stereotypical Twilight than the good doctor, but I have a few ideas in mind for making him unique...
I'm assuming, this being a Twilight game, that custom artifacts and/or upgraded artifacts (i.e. - a 3 dot artifact with additional powers being a 4 or 5 dot artifact) are cool as long they're run by you first? I'll make a slightly more stereotypical Twilight than the good doctor, but I have a few ideas in mind for making him unique...
A-yup. If you post a custom artifact, please post what you want it to do in theory as well as mechanically. You'll either get it, or a revised edition you can get at the listed powerlevel. I fully expect you guys to be building stuff or sorcerering up some demons to build it for you, so starting with them is fine.
As artifact balance in Exalted is, shall we say, less than consistent, this is how I do it. A pure combat weapon will be as good as those in the basic book, but no better at that dot level. Assume the basic ones are, like Solar Charms, the best they can be. If you want to stack powers, you'll wind up paying for them in either increased cost and level or reduced effectiveness. Oadenal's Codex has some good balance rules as does WotLA.
As artifact balance in Exalted is, shall we say, less than consistent, this is how I do it. A pure combat weapon will be as good as those in the basic book, but no better at that dot level. Assume the basic ones are, like Solar Charms, the best they can be. If you want to stack powers, you'll wind up paying for them in either increased cost and level or reduced effectiveness. Oadenal's Codex has some good balance rules as does WotLA.
Feantari
Water Sprite
Kana
Concept: Magitech MacGyver
Of medium height and build, Kana is nothing special to look at. Her mouse brown hair is often rather wild, but she occasionally tames it into a single braid down her back. She dresses in traditional islander fashion, but her clothes look very travel worn. (no she doesn't have tattoos, my searched lacked for cool chick with sais pics)
Backstory
Kana saw something rolling in the surf. This in and of its self was hardly unusual, but this something caught her eye as it reflected the mid-morning sun's light directly into them. Squinting and somewhat irritated she wandered over to discover what manner of thing had tried to blind her. It was a spyglass. Half waterlogged and bound in some questionable looking leather, it looked like it had been in the water for some time. Gathering it up for closer inspection, she felt a wave of nostalgia.
Her father leading her patiently around the docks showing off his ship, and explaining as best he could to a five year old what daddy did for a living. Setting her on a stool by the harbor master's office he handed her his spyglass and told her to keep watch for Lintha. Peering out from her crow's nest with the spyglass she saw magical blue and white fuzziness...
This spyglass looked familiar, but it was ridiculous to even think it could be his. Her father had never returned from his next voyage, and his spyglass was probably lost forever to the ocean. Still, she took it along with her, examining it's make.
Arriving at the shop at mid-day, she was greeted by the sound of Relina's hammer. She watched patiently as Relina finished straightening some flattened stock. She had been working with Relina for four years learning to work metal into the various items Relina sold. Today she had been promised a special task.
"Ah, you're early." Relina said as she put down her hammer. "I need you to make something special for a valued client. A pair of sais. But, they must be both sound and elegant, almost decorative."
"I'm sure you can think of something appropriate," she said with a wink. "I'll be back tomorrow to see if they are acceptable."
She had made sais before, and began arranging materials so they would be ready for the process. But, then that was so boring, and she wanted to create something great. Ideas lept to her mind and she started working. She melted down the slightly chromed rings from the spyglass, and peeled off the layers of leather wrapping. She then crafted the steel into elegant yet deadly looking sais. They were good, the best she had ever made certainly, but the finishing touches would really set them apart. Carefully she tried to ornament the sai with the lighter material. The molten metal seemed to actively resist her, and threatened to escape it's confines. As she struggled to force it into place, a vision flashed through her mind. A massive workshop with all his tools and assistants at the ready, a massive sword before him glowing hot as he drew the metals together and bound them for his purpose. The forge was illuminated with a bright glow. Her hands worked instinctively detailing the blades, sharpening, polishing. Finally she bound the leather from the spyglass around each hilt, and branded them with a pattern at once certain and foreign.
The glow of her anima slowly faded, and she looked at what she had created. Now she understood. Taking up the weapons she named them Look and See, after the materials that gave them power. Twins, one for offense and one for defense, though no mortal could tell you which was which.
As dusk grew close, she remembered Relina, her mother, the village. Afraid of what they might do to her and what she might do to them she fled. Taking Look and See and her satchel with her dinner she snuck out to the first small sail boat she could find and put out to sea. The sea was life to her people, but it was not a woman's domain they said. She could handle this small boat, but the approaching night was a real danger as she had to get away from shore before morning. Turning to parallel the coast she sailed until the light failed, and then rowed hard through the night.
Dawn revealed that she was far out to sea, and she could sea a village on the coast in the distance. She continued sailing up the coast, trying to avoid settlements and other boats. Large pillars of cloud slowly dominated the sky and the winds became troubled and fitful. Her little boat would not survive a true storm at sea, and she fought to move closer to shore. She was far away though, and the storm moved quickly. Soon the rain and wind began in earnest, and it was all she could do to keep hold of the boat and cut lose the sail. The sea tossed her about with little care, and as true night set in, it didn't look like it planned to stop. Suddenly she was thrown from the boat as it hit something with a sickening crunch. The hard rocky ground seemed in league with the waves as they tried to scrape her to pieces. She managed to scramble up the slope and into a cave where she passed out for the night.. and much of the next day.
When she finally woke up, stiff and sore, she peaked out of the cave to try to figure out where she was. There was approximately nothing to see. No shoreline, no boats. A few splinters of boards from her boat were stuck up on the rocky ground. She was on what looked to be a smallish volcanic island, and her cave was most likely a vent. She didn't see any obvious Wyld zones though, so with nothing else to do she began exploring. She paused for the night in another opening further up the mountain. Starving, she had not even seen a bird to hunt. She was thinking about trying to make some of the boat splinters into fishing spears when she realized this opening was not natural. It had been formed into a smooth passageway.
She followed it, and it continually branched. For some reason she didn't track her turns, it didn't seem necessary. Her feet walked the path as though they had done so many times. Feeling her way along in the dark she eventually came out onto a starlit ledge overlooking the very throat of the volcano. It appeared to have been dormant for some time though, and she followed the ledge to a large golden door. It warmed to her touch as she tried the handle, and opened smoothly, silently.
Home. Memories came to her unbidden and showed her what this place was, and had been. The manse itself was relatively large, but many parts of it had fallen to disrepair, the essense of the demense was no longer enough to power it all, but the structure had been well crafted and adjusted accordingly. There was still a serviceable workshop, though a number of the supporting areas were run down, and the hydroponics garden had like-wise adjusted. She ate well of the food the manse provided and went to the hearthroom to reclaim her home.
She spent her time cleaning up the run down areas, and trying to remember the workings of the tools. One day the god of this volcano appeared to her. He recognized his old friend, and mentored her in craft and retrained her in the Ebon Shadow style. At the same time, he spoke often of her mending the power source of this place, and subsequently heightening his power, though he didn't strait-out mention that part. He did speak fondly of working together to create great weapons, and sparing. He only appeared to her as an immaterial spirit, and sometimes just spoke to her mind.
She spent three years in the manse. Training, remembering, and repairing what she could. Once she had mastered the Ebon Shadow form the god of Hiula suggested she go out and search for the knowledge to restore this place. She managed to fashion a small ship and sailed east. A Tya ship found her, and offered to carry her to port on the condition that she told anyone inquiring that she was merely going from one place to another, and had not been at sea alone.
What port though, that was the question. She was afraid to return home, and didn't think to find what she was looking for there anyway. Clearly the Realm was a bad idea, but other than that she didn't really know where to start. Her education in the volcano was a bit outdated in some areas. She sailed with the Tya Elder Sarelle's trading fleet until she heard about some of the free ports and cities to the east with their own libraries and essence users. Kana had proven herself a competent sailor and paid her passage to Nexus with her occult skills as well as mending sails and hauling lines with the rest of the crew. Poor and alone she was amazed by the sight of the city. After a month of pinching what she needed to get by and sneaking into libraries, she was accosted in the street by a group of messengers with a very odd invitation...
Name: Kana
Concept: Engineering Prodigy, Investigator (Magitech MacGyver)
Player: Feantari
Motivation: Fix the dragon lines, create great wonders
Caste: Twilight
Anima: The image of a volcano erupting burns brilliant red, with golden sparks.
Attributes
Strength â—â—
Dexterity â—â—â—â—â—
Stamina â—â—
Charisma â—â—â—
Manipulation â—â—
Appearance â—â—
Perception â—â—â—
Intelligence â—â—â—â—â—
Wits â—â—â—
Abilities
Dawn
Archery â—
â—Martial Arts â—â—â—â—â—
Melee
Thrown
War
Zenith
Integrity â—
Performance
Presence
â—Resistance â—
Survival â—
Twilight
â—Craft â—â—â—â—â—
â—Investigation â—â—
â—Lore â—â—â—
â—Medicine
â—Occult â—â—â—
Night
Athletics â—
Awareness â—
Dodge â—â—â—â—
â—Larceny â—â—
Stealth â—â—
Eclipse
Bureaucracy
â—Linguistics â—â— (Native: Sea-tongue, Learned: Old Realm, Riverspeak)
Ride
â—Sail â—â—
Socialize
Specialties
Swim (Athletics) â—â—
Magitech (Craft) â—â—
Thaumaturgy
The Art of Geomancy
Dragon Line Compass
Dragon Nest Compass
Pulse of the Demesne's Heart
The Art of Weather Working
Foretell Weather
Minor Changes (Raise Breeze)
Minor Changes (Change wind direction)
Charms
Martial Arts
1st Martial Arts Excellency
Image of Death Technique
Wall Climbing Technique
Distracting Finger-Gesture Attack
Ebon Shadow Form
Elusive Flicker Evasion
Resistance
Essence-Gathering Temper
Craft
First Craft Excellency
Craftsman Needs No Tools
Investigation
1st Investigation Excellency
Occult
Spirit-Detecting Glance
Dodge
Reflexive Sidestep Technique
Larceny
Flawless Pickpocketing Technique
Linguistics
Sagacious Reading of Intent
Sail
Salty Dog Method
Combo
Tool of the Sun
1st Craft Excellency
Craftsman Needs No Tools
Backgrounds
Manse â—â—â— The Master's Workshop
- workshop manse (craft (magitech)) (3)
- provider (3)
- Hearthstone, Jewel of the Master's Hand
Artifact â— Look (Sai, 2m)
- speed 5, accuracy +2, damage +3L, defense +2, rate 4, perception +1
Artifact â— See (Sai, 2m)
- speed 5, accuracy 0, damage +3L, defense +4, rate 4, investigation +2
- Pair of sais created by Kana during exaltation
Mentor â—â—
- God of Hiula
Contacts â— Elder Tya Sarelle
Virtues
Compassion â—â—
Conviction â—â—â— (Heart of Flint)
Temperance â—â—â—
Valor â—â—
Essence â—â—â—
Willpower â—â—â—â—â— â—â—â—
18/18 BP, 49/50 XP
I've lots of concepts, but I think this is the one I'd be most interested in playing. If possible I would like to use Plague of Hats rewrite of the Ebon Shadow Style.
Concept: Magitech MacGyver
Of medium height and build, Kana is nothing special to look at. Her mouse brown hair is often rather wild, but she occasionally tames it into a single braid down her back. She dresses in traditional islander fashion, but her clothes look very travel worn. (no she doesn't have tattoos, my searched lacked for cool chick with sais pics)
Backstory
Kana saw something rolling in the surf. This in and of its self was hardly unusual, but this something caught her eye as it reflected the mid-morning sun's light directly into them. Squinting and somewhat irritated she wandered over to discover what manner of thing had tried to blind her. It was a spyglass. Half waterlogged and bound in some questionable looking leather, it looked like it had been in the water for some time. Gathering it up for closer inspection, she felt a wave of nostalgia.
Her father leading her patiently around the docks showing off his ship, and explaining as best he could to a five year old what daddy did for a living. Setting her on a stool by the harbor master's office he handed her his spyglass and told her to keep watch for Lintha. Peering out from her crow's nest with the spyglass she saw magical blue and white fuzziness...
This spyglass looked familiar, but it was ridiculous to even think it could be his. Her father had never returned from his next voyage, and his spyglass was probably lost forever to the ocean. Still, she took it along with her, examining it's make.
Arriving at the shop at mid-day, she was greeted by the sound of Relina's hammer. She watched patiently as Relina finished straightening some flattened stock. She had been working with Relina for four years learning to work metal into the various items Relina sold. Today she had been promised a special task.
"Ah, you're early." Relina said as she put down her hammer. "I need you to make something special for a valued client. A pair of sais. But, they must be both sound and elegant, almost decorative."
"I'm sure you can think of something appropriate," she said with a wink. "I'll be back tomorrow to see if they are acceptable."
She had made sais before, and began arranging materials so they would be ready for the process. But, then that was so boring, and she wanted to create something great. Ideas lept to her mind and she started working. She melted down the slightly chromed rings from the spyglass, and peeled off the layers of leather wrapping. She then crafted the steel into elegant yet deadly looking sais. They were good, the best she had ever made certainly, but the finishing touches would really set them apart. Carefully she tried to ornament the sai with the lighter material. The molten metal seemed to actively resist her, and threatened to escape it's confines. As she struggled to force it into place, a vision flashed through her mind. A massive workshop with all his tools and assistants at the ready, a massive sword before him glowing hot as he drew the metals together and bound them for his purpose. The forge was illuminated with a bright glow. Her hands worked instinctively detailing the blades, sharpening, polishing. Finally she bound the leather from the spyglass around each hilt, and branded them with a pattern at once certain and foreign.
The glow of her anima slowly faded, and she looked at what she had created. Now she understood. Taking up the weapons she named them Look and See, after the materials that gave them power. Twins, one for offense and one for defense, though no mortal could tell you which was which.
As dusk grew close, she remembered Relina, her mother, the village. Afraid of what they might do to her and what she might do to them she fled. Taking Look and See and her satchel with her dinner she snuck out to the first small sail boat she could find and put out to sea. The sea was life to her people, but it was not a woman's domain they said. She could handle this small boat, but the approaching night was a real danger as she had to get away from shore before morning. Turning to parallel the coast she sailed until the light failed, and then rowed hard through the night.
Dawn revealed that she was far out to sea, and she could sea a village on the coast in the distance. She continued sailing up the coast, trying to avoid settlements and other boats. Large pillars of cloud slowly dominated the sky and the winds became troubled and fitful. Her little boat would not survive a true storm at sea, and she fought to move closer to shore. She was far away though, and the storm moved quickly. Soon the rain and wind began in earnest, and it was all she could do to keep hold of the boat and cut lose the sail. The sea tossed her about with little care, and as true night set in, it didn't look like it planned to stop. Suddenly she was thrown from the boat as it hit something with a sickening crunch. The hard rocky ground seemed in league with the waves as they tried to scrape her to pieces. She managed to scramble up the slope and into a cave where she passed out for the night.. and much of the next day.
When she finally woke up, stiff and sore, she peaked out of the cave to try to figure out where she was. There was approximately nothing to see. No shoreline, no boats. A few splinters of boards from her boat were stuck up on the rocky ground. She was on what looked to be a smallish volcanic island, and her cave was most likely a vent. She didn't see any obvious Wyld zones though, so with nothing else to do she began exploring. She paused for the night in another opening further up the mountain. Starving, she had not even seen a bird to hunt. She was thinking about trying to make some of the boat splinters into fishing spears when she realized this opening was not natural. It had been formed into a smooth passageway.
She followed it, and it continually branched. For some reason she didn't track her turns, it didn't seem necessary. Her feet walked the path as though they had done so many times. Feeling her way along in the dark she eventually came out onto a starlit ledge overlooking the very throat of the volcano. It appeared to have been dormant for some time though, and she followed the ledge to a large golden door. It warmed to her touch as she tried the handle, and opened smoothly, silently.
Home. Memories came to her unbidden and showed her what this place was, and had been. The manse itself was relatively large, but many parts of it had fallen to disrepair, the essense of the demense was no longer enough to power it all, but the structure had been well crafted and adjusted accordingly. There was still a serviceable workshop, though a number of the supporting areas were run down, and the hydroponics garden had like-wise adjusted. She ate well of the food the manse provided and went to the hearthroom to reclaim her home.
She spent her time cleaning up the run down areas, and trying to remember the workings of the tools. One day the god of this volcano appeared to her. He recognized his old friend, and mentored her in craft and retrained her in the Ebon Shadow style. At the same time, he spoke often of her mending the power source of this place, and subsequently heightening his power, though he didn't strait-out mention that part. He did speak fondly of working together to create great weapons, and sparing. He only appeared to her as an immaterial spirit, and sometimes just spoke to her mind.
She spent three years in the manse. Training, remembering, and repairing what she could. Once she had mastered the Ebon Shadow form the god of Hiula suggested she go out and search for the knowledge to restore this place. She managed to fashion a small ship and sailed east. A Tya ship found her, and offered to carry her to port on the condition that she told anyone inquiring that she was merely going from one place to another, and had not been at sea alone.
What port though, that was the question. She was afraid to return home, and didn't think to find what she was looking for there anyway. Clearly the Realm was a bad idea, but other than that she didn't really know where to start. Her education in the volcano was a bit outdated in some areas. She sailed with the Tya Elder Sarelle's trading fleet until she heard about some of the free ports and cities to the east with their own libraries and essence users. Kana had proven herself a competent sailor and paid her passage to Nexus with her occult skills as well as mending sails and hauling lines with the rest of the crew. Poor and alone she was amazed by the sight of the city. After a month of pinching what she needed to get by and sneaking into libraries, she was accosted in the street by a group of messengers with a very odd invitation...
Name: Kana
Concept: Engineering Prodigy, Investigator (Magitech MacGyver)
Player: Feantari
Motivation: Fix the dragon lines, create great wonders
Caste: Twilight
Anima: The image of a volcano erupting burns brilliant red, with golden sparks.
Attributes
Strength â—â—
Dexterity â—â—â—â—â—
Stamina â—â—
Charisma â—â—â—
Manipulation â—â—
Appearance â—â—
Perception â—â—â—
Intelligence â—â—â—â—â—
Wits â—â—â—
Abilities
Dawn
Archery â—
â—Martial Arts â—â—â—â—â—
Melee
Thrown
War
Zenith
Integrity â—
Performance
Presence
â—Resistance â—
Survival â—
Twilight
â—Craft â—â—â—â—â—
â—Investigation â—â—
â—Lore â—â—â—
â—Medicine
â—Occult â—â—â—
Night
Athletics â—
Awareness â—
Dodge â—â—â—â—
â—Larceny â—â—
Stealth â—â—
Eclipse
Bureaucracy
â—Linguistics â—â— (Native: Sea-tongue, Learned: Old Realm, Riverspeak)
Ride
â—Sail â—â—
Socialize
Specialties
Swim (Athletics) â—â—
Magitech (Craft) â—â—
Thaumaturgy
The Art of Geomancy
Dragon Line Compass
Dragon Nest Compass
Pulse of the Demesne's Heart
The Art of Weather Working
Foretell Weather
Minor Changes (Raise Breeze)
Minor Changes (Change wind direction)
Charms
Martial Arts
1st Martial Arts Excellency
Image of Death Technique
Wall Climbing Technique
Distracting Finger-Gesture Attack
Ebon Shadow Form
Elusive Flicker Evasion
Resistance
Essence-Gathering Temper
Craft
First Craft Excellency
Craftsman Needs No Tools
Investigation
1st Investigation Excellency
Occult
Spirit-Detecting Glance
Dodge
Reflexive Sidestep Technique
Larceny
Flawless Pickpocketing Technique
Linguistics
Sagacious Reading of Intent
Sail
Salty Dog Method
Combo
Tool of the Sun
1st Craft Excellency
Craftsman Needs No Tools
Backgrounds
Manse â—â—â— The Master's Workshop
- workshop manse (craft (magitech)) (3)
- provider (3)
- Hearthstone, Jewel of the Master's Hand
Artifact â— Look (Sai, 2m)
- speed 5, accuracy +2, damage +3L, defense +2, rate 4, perception +1
Artifact â— See (Sai, 2m)
- speed 5, accuracy 0, damage +3L, defense +4, rate 4, investigation +2
- Pair of sais created by Kana during exaltation
Mentor â—â—
- God of Hiula
Contacts â— Elder Tya Sarelle
Virtues
Compassion â—â—
Conviction â—â—â— (Heart of Flint)
Temperance â—â—â—
Valor â—â—
Essence â—â—â—
Willpower â—â—â—â—â— â—â—â—
18/18 BP, 49/50 XP
I've lots of concepts, but I think this is the one I'd be most interested in playing. If possible I would like to use Plague of Hats rewrite of the Ebon Shadow Style.
gatherer818
One Thousand Club
Impressive 
not that my opinion's exactly the one that matters around here, but impressive all the same.
EDIT: So I had quite a bit of trouble letting go of my original concept. I reworked him quite a bit. I think I'm satisfied with the way he turned out, although I'd like him to be a bit better at crafting to help him fit into the overall theme of the game more, I'll work on that later. He's not terrible at it, but will probably need rely on his circle a bit early on, especially for travel - I really hope at least one person has a conveyance method that allows a passenger until he can acquire one.
The only changes that need to be made to his backstory and exaltation are that he only grabbed one item from the tomb.
Mechanically, losing the Flaws gave him back the ability to participate in ranged combat, although he still doesn't have Archery, he'll pick it up if we fight stuff that doesn't deserve mercy (Fair Folk, undead/deathknights) so he can use Essence cannons or whatever is available. He's not as powerful but is more versatile in melee than he was before, losing his Perfected Kata Bracers and a point of Essence but gaining more MA Charms. He's mastered the Art of Alchemy and knows several Procedures from other Arts, particularly Demon Summoning. (You were right, Feantary, it is a bit expensive. It's useful, though - I ended up with a much wider range of effects I could get from Alchemy than from the same BP worth of Medicine Charms, although they're all weaker as well.) He's much more defensively minded than before, though, which actually makes more sense given his personality - if we have any "squishies" in the group, plan to stay near Uncle Johnny, he'll protect you
As far as room to grow, he really needs to pick up more crafting, particularly Charms (his basics are ok, but no magic there), and he really needs to improve his Social skills. I'm sure he'll end up with a bit of a panoply given time to cover any weaknesses in physical combat, but right now he needs damage output there (but he'll do for now through defense and debuff abilities). I'm toying with him going into Sorcery later as well, depending on how long the game runs and how much exp we get - I've never had the chance to RP someone's Initiation, and his backstory really only covers his Journey and Humility, the other three Stations will have to be played out, which is awesome but I'm a little nervous about it too.
The new build has only the Paragon merit, no flaws, Miashara. I'll put the full sheet together shortly. EDIT2: http://pagesofdoom.com/exalted/charsheet/rE7L5xu3 Can't say that I care for that online sheet, though, I'll write it out on a forum post once our forum is up, assuming I make the cut.
not that my opinion's exactly the one that matters around here, but impressive all the same.EDIT: So I had quite a bit of trouble letting go of my original concept. I reworked him quite a bit. I think I'm satisfied with the way he turned out, although I'd like him to be a bit better at crafting to help him fit into the overall theme of the game more, I'll work on that later. He's not terrible at it, but will probably need rely on his circle a bit early on, especially for travel - I really hope at least one person has a conveyance method that allows a passenger until he can acquire one.
The only changes that need to be made to his backstory and exaltation are that he only grabbed one item from the tomb.
Mechanically, losing the Flaws gave him back the ability to participate in ranged combat, although he still doesn't have Archery, he'll pick it up if we fight stuff that doesn't deserve mercy (Fair Folk, undead/deathknights) so he can use Essence cannons or whatever is available. He's not as powerful but is more versatile in melee than he was before, losing his Perfected Kata Bracers and a point of Essence but gaining more MA Charms. He's mastered the Art of Alchemy and knows several Procedures from other Arts, particularly Demon Summoning. (You were right, Feantary, it is a bit expensive. It's useful, though - I ended up with a much wider range of effects I could get from Alchemy than from the same BP worth of Medicine Charms, although they're all weaker as well.) He's much more defensively minded than before, though, which actually makes more sense given his personality - if we have any "squishies" in the group, plan to stay near Uncle Johnny, he'll protect you
As far as room to grow, he really needs to pick up more crafting, particularly Charms (his basics are ok, but no magic there), and he really needs to improve his Social skills. I'm sure he'll end up with a bit of a panoply given time to cover any weaknesses in physical combat, but right now he needs damage output there (but he'll do for now through defense and debuff abilities). I'm toying with him going into Sorcery later as well, depending on how long the game runs and how much exp we get - I've never had the chance to RP someone's Initiation, and his backstory really only covers his Journey and Humility, the other three Stations will have to be played out, which is awesome but I'm a little nervous about it too.
The new build has only the Paragon merit, no flaws, Miashara. I'll put the full sheet together shortly. EDIT2: http://pagesofdoom.com/exalted/charsheet/rE7L5xu3 Can't say that I care for that online sheet, though, I'll write it out on a forum post once our forum is up, assuming I make the cut.
MrSerious
Posting Addict
Correct me if I'm wrong but the Errata'd character generation rules start with 18bonus points and 1 bp to increase Virtues and Willpower (starting at 5) though the two are no longer linked.Feantari said:
Feantari
Water Sprite
Ah, yeah, I used 18 even, silly brain just thinks it knows what it is talking about.MrSerious said:
gatherer818
One Thousand Club
http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?513 ... le-rewrite
Assuming I found the final version and there's not a more up-to-date one somewhere, am I reading this right that you actually requested to use a rewrite that was basically all power reductions in exchange for it making more sense (both in flavor and mechanics)? You're one of my favorite kinds of player by far
Assuming I found the final version and there's not a more up-to-date one somewhere, am I reading this right that you actually requested to use a rewrite that was basically all power reductions in exchange for it making more sense (both in flavor and mechanics)? You're one of my favorite kinds of player by far
Reaver
One Thousand Club
I have two custom artifacts I was hoping for. The first is a weapon and the second is an automaton.
The Air Dragon's Whisker Level 3
The Air Dragon's Whisker Level 3
The Air Dragon's Whisker. This weapon is a blade that has a chained lightning bolt for a blade. It was made as a test bed for the next blade. Currently Kenchiro is constantly fiddling with the device to maximize the output of it and to figure out what is needed to perfect the secondary affects before going out to get himself a god to power the final version.
In battle the blade curves strangely that both makes it hard to predict and to wield untrained. Mortal blades can't parry it as the blade would curve around and surge through what ever it made contact with. Mystical weapons tend not to have such a problem. Another aspect of it is that it's essence matrix causes other magitech devices to short out when struck by it.
Repair: Every 6 turns of use requires an 1 hour maintenance. If it goes for 12 turns before maintenance it loses 1L damage per 6 turn increment.
Attunement: 8 motes
Speed 5 Acc: +3** Dam + 5L PDV * Rate 4
*The blade can not be used to parry.
**If user does not have specialty in this or similiar weapon it is instead a -2 Acc
AICA - Level 5
In battle the blade curves strangely that both makes it hard to predict and to wield untrained. Mortal blades can't parry it as the blade would curve around and surge through what ever it made contact with. Mystical weapons tend not to have such a problem. Another aspect of it is that it's essence matrix causes other magitech devices to short out when struck by it.
Repair: Every 6 turns of use requires an 1 hour maintenance. If it goes for 12 turns before maintenance it loses 1L damage per 6 turn increment.
Attunement: 8 motes
Speed 5 Acc: +3** Dam + 5L PDV * Rate 4
*The blade can not be used to parry.
**If user does not have specialty in this or similiar weapon it is instead a -2 Acc
AICA - Level 5
The second one if a bit more complex, it could be argued it's less an artifact more a familiar or an ally. You see it's sentient and designed to aid a person in crafting.
AICA – Artificial Intellect Crafter Assistant. She was started when he was still mortal. A side project he did for fun. A labor of love one could say. Kenchiro managed to finish it in the three months he was under house arrest as the general council decided his fate. To him she is amazing. Her physical form is a ball about one and a half feet in diameter. That is just the housing for her processor and projectors. The real marvel of her is in the fact that she can make a solid hologram of a body and any basic tool. She has limited control in the exact shape of the illusion. It must remain human and be within standard human deviations. The amazing thing about her is the complex set of sensors he installed within the tiny frame. She can project non tangible images that are directly linked to her sensors.
Those two facts would make her an amazing aid. Yet what makes her truly remarkable is the fact that she is sentient. To Kenchiro she is his daughter. There are moments she acts like a child in her curiosity and naive innocence. In the end Kenchiro is eagerly awaiting to see how far she develops like a proud parent.
For the stat line I figured I'd give you the idea before playing around with it. See if it will even fit within your campaign.
I'm having trouble finding an appropriate picture for him. Not many ones of a armored man with a shield using a blade of lightning.
AICA – Artificial Intellect Crafter Assistant. She was started when he was still mortal. A side project he did for fun. A labor of love one could say. Kenchiro managed to finish it in the three months he was under house arrest as the general council decided his fate. To him she is amazing. Her physical form is a ball about one and a half feet in diameter. That is just the housing for her processor and projectors. The real marvel of her is in the fact that she can make a solid hologram of a body and any basic tool. She has limited control in the exact shape of the illusion. It must remain human and be within standard human deviations. The amazing thing about her is the complex set of sensors he installed within the tiny frame. She can project non tangible images that are directly linked to her sensors.
Those two facts would make her an amazing aid. Yet what makes her truly remarkable is the fact that she is sentient. To Kenchiro she is his daughter. There are moments she acts like a child in her curiosity and naive innocence. In the end Kenchiro is eagerly awaiting to see how far she develops like a proud parent.
For the stat line I figured I'd give you the idea before playing around with it. See if it will even fit within your campaign.
I'm having trouble finding an appropriate picture for him. Not many ones of a armored man with a shield using a blade of lightning.
Feantari
Water Sprite
Yep that is the right version. I have a pdf of his stuff, but I didn't find a link for it when I looked.gatherer818 said:http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?513175-Exalted-Ebon-Shadow-Style-rewrite
Assuming I found the final version and there's not a more up-to-date one somewhere, am I reading this right that you actually requested to use a rewrite that was basically all power reductions in exchange for it making more sense (both in flavor and mechanics)? You're one of my favorite kinds of player by far