Interest Check: Two possible games...

[gatherer818]

For the record, by the way, I'll probably accept concepts besides Solars or Lunars for the serious game if they have a really good backstory and justification. I'm already getting that question in PMs and on Teamspeak, and I'm not inclined to simply say no, but they'll need to have a good reason and can't be overly disruptive to the goals and themes of the players and the game in general.


As for OpenRPG, I'll look at it again. Does it support multiple separate channels?


I've used MapTools before and I like it for games that need a battlemap, but unless the players all lean toward challenging combat on a regular basis, we shouldn't need one.

 

[Esbilon]

Not very well unfortunately

 

[Wuming]

Open rpg is not bad. Gotta check out team speak though

 

[gatherer818]

I'll probably formalize things around next Wednesday, shape up the idea into a game and start taking concepts around then, by the way. Gonna let the poll finish (though it looks more obvious which one will win, I'm excited for the serious game now) first and get my ducks aligned.

 

[Wuming]

Sound good! Perhaps an indication of Direction would be good.

 

[gatherer818]

Re: Direction


The West is the only Direction I'm particularly opposed to, I know the least about it and typically find nautical warfare hard to convey effectively in description. While I might be up for a Pirates of the Caribbean game, this is certainly not it. I'm currently thinking probably starting in the East/Scavenger Lands, but if the players prefer otherwise, I'm amenable.


Re: Other Exalted types


I'm going back-and-forth on this faster than a politician caught in his own lies. I probably won't reject any concept that's just flat impressive. Before you decide you need to play an esoteric Exalt, though, keep the following in mind:

Spoiler

1) The game should become high-Essence, likely within a few months assuming we meet nearly every week. Sidereal, Nocturnal, and Infernal Exalted have very few Charms past E5 already existing (SMA notwithstanding). Abyssal Exalted are also a bit short on these Charms, but can likely mirror Solar Charms at that point to help make up the difference.


2) The game's theme will be about some kind of epic, lasting change to Creation. It doesn't necessarily need to be returning Creation to the First Age, but your characters' Motivations should lend themselves to improving (at least in your character's eyes) Creation in some quantifiable way. Loyal deathknights almost certainly cannot accomplish this, Infernal Urges make improving Creation difficult at best, and Sidereal agents may have trouble following along owing to Yu-Shan's politics. Ronin Sidereals might work better, but still need to contend with Arcane Fate.


3) While I'm not against a big game, when I'm making final decisions, if I have to choose between concepts that are both great, I'm more likely to take the one I know the most about (and so can plan an epic game for better) and the one that fits in with the theme and the other characters best.


4) I hardly mentioned Terrestrial Exalted in here, because there hasn't yet been much mention of them. I'm mostly fine with them, and may make some changes to make it a little easier on them to keep up (normalizing XP costs, etc). They can be very useful, with the elemental effects other Exalts don't have and the fact they're not considered Anathema by most of Creation. However, they may have trouble keeping up at the higher levels despite my best efforts, and someone does decide to recreate the First Age, they'll likely be regulated to the ranks of the lieutenants while the Solar-tier players remain the generals. I'm certainly not going to tell anyone they have to play second fiddle, but that's where Dragon-blooded naturally land pretty often, so keep that in mind if you decide to play one.





To summarize, here's my personal preference for which Exalt types the circle ends up with:


Solars and Lunars (my ideal set up would be a perfect circle of Solars, with 1-5 mated Lunar PCs, but I recognize I likely won't get that)


Renegade Abyssals and Dragon-blooded - won't take too much justification to get these guys in


Infernals and Ronin Sidereals - these introduce complications I don't exactly look forward to dealing with, but I can be convinced


Nocturnals - I know a little about them, and I do like their themes, but I really don't know how to tell an epic story about them yet


Bureau Sidereals - It's really hard to picture one of these working, between Arcane Fate and politics.


Loyal Abyssals - Precisely how do you intend to produce a theory, civilization, or paradigm of lasting value when you seek the end of all?


Alchemicals - All I know about them is that they are robots that become cities. The Seals that keep them out are holding intact. You'll need a truly epic story. I simply don't advise it.


So there's a few things to think about. I'll put in a forum request Wednesday, and start taking concepts and discussing character creation then. That's also when we'll talk about scheduling - I'll lend preference towards trying to get the timing to encompass as many of the most interesting or epic concepts as possible, as I hate to exclude interesting characters simply based on their players' time zones. Live play will be the focus, but the forum will be available for doing things during downtime or completing side quests. I'm also pretty willing to play live at times outside our schedule, extra sessions are never a bad thing.

 

[Esbilon]

I like this game more every time you post, gatherer818

 

[Deviltigerr]

Definitely going to be a Solar for this. I already have a concept in mind and can't wait for Wednesday.

 

[gatherer818]

I'm glad. I was worried I was scaring everyone off. There is a fine line between Storyteller and dictator, after all. The fact is, for the theme I'm going for, Solars and maybe their eternal partners simply work best. They also have the First Age books supporting their growth to levels where everyone else will be in uncharted territory. Sure, we'll still need custom Charms to make things workable at that level, but we have a solid base to jump off of.


I played around with OpenRPG (it actually worked this time! I uninstalled everything on my computer with the word Python in it and let their installer reinstall everything), and while I do like it for tactical-combat games like Pathfinder, I think I'll stick with IRC for this game. Having a second OOC channel allows for links and side-conversations and more to take place without distracting from the IC play (or jumping back and forth between applications), plus we can keep all the rolls in there as well. I re-tested my dicebot and he's working great, with options for rolling damage, Exalted rolls, mortal rolls, editing target numbers on the fly, even for automatically botching a roll (not that anyone would earn an auto-botch... you keep your oaths, right? ).


The thing I'm having most trouble with, honestly, is a name. If anyone has a concept they're working on, especially if your Motivation is ready, I'd love to hear it. With the plot so open to you guys, I'm not sure where to go with the name


so far I've heard from one Twilight Caste crafter with a ridiculously epic Motivation involving magitech, and one No Moon who intends that Creation will never lose a single bit of knowledge ever again.

 

[Esbilon]

I will probably be pitching a Dawn. I still like the concept I have for an ex-bride of Ahlat who wants to kick out the Realm from Harborhead, but she's been rejected for two independent games, so perhaps I should take the hint


In any case, such a dawn still be about recruiting an army, training it and kicking out whoever is currently in charge of the land we're interested in. Seeing as how the concepts you have have ridiculously epic Motivations, I think I should spend a bit more time figuring out one that will be both a useful guide for my characters actions and epic enough to make Creation tremble.

 

[Deviltigerr]

An Eclipse Caste, a young noble, who wants to become the lord of creation, believing that the world would be in a much better state if he was in control.

 

[Jondera]

I'm looking at a Night caste martial artist (Crystal Chameleon style, if that's acceptable)/spy, born to a dynastic house and trained as a mortal spy, then exalted as a Solar while out on a mission and defected. Still a bit fuzzy on her motivation, though.


And Arion Wind has a lunar concept that would be my bonded mate.

 

[Arion Wind]

I'm looking at a Night caste martial artist (Crystal Chameleon style, if that's acceptable)/spy, born to a dynastic house and trained as a mortal spy, then exalted as a Solar while out on a mission and defected. Still a bit fuzzy on her motivation, though.
And Arion Wind has a lunar concept that would be my bonded mate.

Yep, a Full Moon, Vale of Tranquil Silver, with an original motivation of ending Immaculate influence in his region by just being unkillable and demoralizing them, but to make it more epic, I may just extend "Immaculate" to "All Creation's Threats". Will refine it over the next few days.

 

[QuicksilverFox85]

Looks like we need another Lunar at the moment... *ponders concepts* By the by...are you sticking with the current 3 castes or using the original 5?

 

[gatherer818]

starting will largely be vanilla, so probably the 3-caste system. Finding a way to bring back the 5-caste system might be someone's Motivation...

 

[Wuming]

Zenith is as usual for me. I simply adore them.


Initial thought: Previously a coward who have gone through great deal of injustice and shits and after exaltation looking for allies to turn the creation into a just and righteous place. From accommodating demeanor he eventually get the hang of Might makes right and more might makes more rights. (though the motivation may shift a little as I draft it out.)


I will be flying off to Taiwan tomorrow and be back on Friday night. (bangkok Time) Will be stealing time in between to get internet access to send the write ups. Not gonna miss a thing. : p

 

[QuicksilverFox85]

starting will largely be vanilla, so probably the 3-caste system. Finding a way to bring back the 5-caste system might be someone's Motivation...

...true! I have just the Lunar, in fact. Played him elsewhere but never got a full story out of him.


Walks-the-Sunlit-Path is an oddity even among his fellow Sun King Seneschals for the sheer level of dedication to the Lawbringers and their patron. He had nearly slipped into the madness of chimeradom, and would have if not for the intervention of a CotI-trained Twilight. He was trained at Kether Rock, then given to his Lunar fellows for tattooing. His mental acuity and station as a priest (albeit it of the UCS) led his ritemaster to try and mark him as a No Moon; however, the older patterns of caste briefly reasserted themselves and he became a Changing Moon.


Short-term goals include finding his Solar mate, while longer term goals involve helping Creation to accept the true Princes of the Earth once more and to find a way to reaign his Essence with the old patterns on a permanent basis.

 

[snake obsidian]

I´ve got a Lunar. She has just recently been exalted and has no motivation besides finding and saving a person who has just turned into an Infernal, and who might or might not have burned her house, but such things always tend to become more complicated when the world gets involved, and she can also be put in whatever region the game starts, so she can gain more motivations ad-hoc to the game.

 

[The World is Flat]

I've been working on a heavy crafting twilight solar. Possibly Genesis/Magi-tech. Her motivation is to unlock the secrets of the first age and reform all of creation into a single wondrous machine. (Imagine a giant magi-tech/genesis-craft city that is made of everything. Essentially a living entity that is all of creation. And then of course she wants to control that city)


I'm no great shakes at exalted, but this should be a blast, and i've been talking with gatherer quite a bit about my concepts.

 

[Incendius]

I will be working on a Zenith or Eclipse caste (haven't decided which yet). The character will be a guild factor, and their motivation will be to reform the guild and turn it into an organization that uplifts humanity into a glorious new age. This will be a bit of switch for me; I tend to play slaves or individuals of other similar social status... but this is going to be the exact opposite.

 

[Wuming]

Ha... Done. Before I go Taiwan, here's a quick draft of my Zenith.


Don't know how to be awesome and nothing original. Just write what comes to my mind.


And I am Not a native speaker, please be lenient on my English!


Initial thought: Previously a coward who have gone through great deal of injustice and shits and after exaltation looking for allies to turn the creation into a just and righteous place. From accommodating demeanor he eventually get the hang of Might makes right and more might makes more rights.

Spoiler

SUN, Arbiter of Light (Zenith)


Motivation: Lead Creation to path o Righteousness and Justice


Childhood


25 winters ago, a pretty baby was born into a wealthy family in Nexus. His father was a rich merchant who inherited huge wealth through underhand means from his family. All was well for the child, until he turned 5, the day his mother mysteriously disappeared and his father suddenly became atrocious. Still the child was well taken care of in all things materials and given great education and such. But every other night this boy crawls through hell.


“You are just like your mother! A fucking whore! And your face made me sick!†His drunken father would find all plausible reasons and go through the list he made up as he beat him up for each incompetence or mistake, leaving bruises on face, ribs, and sometimes dislocated limbs, if not dead.


“Don’t you dare run, you fucking SHIT! The more you run the more HELL you’d get from me!†The child learned to stop running and kneel where he was and prayed for his father’s wrath to calm quickly. The next day, though, his father would cried for what he has done to the kid. And the child just shrugged fearfully and prayed the night would not repeat itself again.


In school, he had no friends. Nobody wants to play with him. Every time he went to school with swollen face or limping legs, the other kids would make fun of him, calling him names. There were no physical abuses though, for the kids know who his father was. But the verbal abuses have caused hurt no lesser than anything physical.


Over the years, the boy learned to lessen his pains with a wry smile and avoid confrontations and challenges by all means possible. Many would call him coward; though he reframed that notion as self-defense. There were anger in him but he accepted as he thought there was nothing much he could do.


Street of Nexus


Years of negligence in business and succumb to alcoholism caused his father to lose everything he owned to his treacherous follower, Nazim. Burdened with great despair, his father hanged himself. The boy was 12 when he took to the callous streets of Nexus. Every day, he would dig into the debris in alley for food. And sometimes even fierce dogs and cats would deny him his meal.


Later, the street gang found him and tried to train him in thievery. The boy learn fast but was too timid to be any more reliable or useful. Acknowledging that there were no further profits to be made with such frail investment, they sold the kid as slave to a noble house for a couple of coins and to end further enervation.


Slavery


Over there, the child’s life got better; at least the basic subsistence was taken care of. As he grew older, the frail boy turned into a charming man. The concubines of the rich noble grew into lewd propositions and consume him for sexual pleasures that their husband could longer supply. They were especially fond of him for his carnal performance and pleasing tongue. Occasionally, these shameless wives invited their closest friends to share their lusty experimentation; they were please to showcase their toy. The youth was reluctant but he must.


When their husband found out, he was furious but level-headed enough to make shrewd purge of the youth instead simple murder. He sold him to gladiator house for a profit and leaving him to die in the arena or even if he survived, he’d be cursed to eternal torments. That idea pleased the noble more.


Gladiator


In the Gladiatorial quarter, in Gem, the training master warned the new recruits that death awaits them unless they choose to prepare themselves exhaustively. Even a coward he was, the man gave his best. For death was never his option. He must survive. Together with other recruits, he was thrown into insane training regimen, honing him into a remarkable weapon. His timidity faded but not ceased. The Master saw the diamond in the rough, but his cowardice must be eradicated by appropriate means. The trainer noticed his fondness for a slave girl, Marina, and decided to use her as the trigger.


They brought him to a chamber, chained him up, and raped the slave girl in front of him.


After the two men were done with her, the trainer turned to the crying man and said, “There is nothing you can do…erh…â€


The trainer whipped his heavy, callused hand across his face and continued, “Feeling helpless…erh…â€


And grabbed his chin and tilted it so that the man's eyes met his. “I promise you this shall be her fate for eternity if you die or fail me in the arena! Am I clear about this?†The man with teary eyes nodded his head.


And the trainer was pleased and said,†Just in case you forget later, I want you to see this again!†He ordered yet another two men and the room echoed in screams and agonies again.


The man saw Maria’s teary eyes soaked in despair. For the first time in his life, his cowardice subsided and rage prevailed. In the past, he was able to withstand punishments and swallow the pains with a smile. Even when helpless, he alone suffered the consequences and nobody else got hurt.


But now, he could no longer smile. The woman he adored was suffering. She was struggling in amalgam of screams, pains and cries. Those bastards have stolen away what was precious to him and there was absolutely nothing he could do. His heart cried in agony. He felt the ravenous bites of injustice. He could no longer tolerate. He could no longer succumb to weakness. He swore to make wrong right!


Exaltation


At this moment, the Unconquered Sun seemed to notice his resolution and exalted him. His forehead etched a large, bright-gold circular caste mark. Anima in a shape of a brilliant, majestic golden Cross lit the chamber. His body surged with raw strength he never had before. He pulled the two hardy men restraining him into a heavy clash, and they both lay motionlessly on the ground with blood on their faces.


The man pulled a short blade from the fallen’s scabbard, lunged towards the surprised trainer and stabbed the blade deep into his back and as he roared in rage he lifted the sword upwards and allowing the organs to empty from his body. He withdrew the blade and in two big strides he swung the blade, while loosening his grip to gather tremendous momentum and sliced through the rapist’s head like knife over cheese, and blood sprayed like fountain.


The other three, terrified by what they saw, attempted to escape. But the man could not let evils go unpunished, wrongs cannot stand uncorrected. He lashed his blade in blinding speed, as ice on hot metal flashing in a dazzling golden arc to strike all three. His enemies dropped weightily on the floor. The man made a mental note, six breathe he took to eradicate his adversaries.


He hurried towards Marina, clothed her and carried her on his arms.


He walked out of the chamber into the training field, gave an apologetic look at the still sobbing woman, he comforted, “its alright now, Marina. You shall be under my care.â€


He looked up towards the brighten sky in gratefulness and hope, and promised to his new found God,†My name is Sun. From this day forth, I shall be your Arbiter of Light. I swear to lead the creation to path of righteousness and justice. And with my might, all wrongs shall be corrected. All evils shall not go unpunished!â€


Together the duo left Gem, set on a quest, perhaps, only demi-gods can hope to succeed.

 

[Xaantiaz]

I'm currently thinking a Dawn ex-Lookshy Gunzosha Commando who has some scores to settle with the Mask of Winters and a Lookshy Dragon-blooded commander over the possession and murder of his wife. He fled north to grieve and is only now coming back to do something.


Edit: Though this is subject to change wildly based on other entries or my general mood...

 

[Coyotekin]

Incendius, my character and your own might very do great things together. My character seeks to create an organization, behind the scenes, that helps to raise and destroy kingdoms, with the ultimate goal of supporting Creation's peoples as a whole. Think the Game of Masks without the selfish goal of just the one.


Mine is a Zenith, one who seeks to help society, all the while remaining behind the scenes. Think Lotus Society for Avatar: The Last Airbender.

 

[gatherer818]

Forum request is in. In the meantime I've been using Dropbox to communicate with members, as it seems to work better for live games, although I'll mirror everything important from the Dropbox to the forum when I have the chance. Anyone who'd like an invite to the Dropbox should PM me their email address or Dropbox name. (If you're not currently a Dropbox member but are willing to give it a try, just let me know your email and I'll invite you - we both get a bonus for invited members.) Dropbox particpation is NOT required - I've already got people installing Teamspeak and ChatZilla or mIRC, and the point of this game is not to see how many programs I can get you to install it's a nice way to share character sheets and other stuff (I'll probably tend to put relevant pictures and maybe background music in it, even) rapidly, instead of fiddling with forum attachments and YouTube links, but won't be necessary to play.

 

[Incendius]

Do we currently have an IRC channel?