Dice Into the Ruins - Exalted 3e OOC

[Purr]

That might be because it looks like names or places I referenced were something canon or established elsewhere, when they were in fact made up on the spot. This is why I told Psychie to feel free to give me a bonk on the head if I'm taking too many liberties,

Rykon Oh yeah! To me, canon or not, they're all new places to me. I'm so new, I can't tell the difference (and I'm okay with that). Now, as you and Psychie go, as long as you are seeing eye to eye, then it's a "yay" and a cheer from my side of the bleachers! =)

While we are explicitly allowed to express some creative license with the declare fact action, that is provided the Storyteller gives the ok. Otherwise, we adjust or discard it.

Uh, what's the declare fact action? Heh.

One of my buddies that introduced me both to tabletop and Exalted once taught me "The first rule of improv is to never say no" and it took me a while to really understand what that means and how to work with it. If I can put forth an idea that's interesting, leverages what was established, and leaves room for further imagination then I feel like I'm in the right ballpark at least.

Yeah. I'd probably make a troubled Exalted Storyteller, at least at start. With the way this neurodivergent brain of mine works, I'm highly creative and I don't "think outside of the box" (because I just don't have a "box"). For me, I'm pretty sure my first rule when I'm running a game is: "Real Life Always Comes First." Period. Second? "Fairness and fun in every game/I'm not having fun unless everyone in our game is having fun." And... third? Probably Stephen King's, "the story is the boss" (from On Writing: Memoirs of the Craft by King).

That's where improv and I need to see eye-to-eye. For me, improvised or planned out to the letter, either what is being expressed fits the story or it doesn't. If someone in this game, say, improvs a scene where their character invents... uhh... lightsabres... well, I'm going to want to challenge that. I'll first look to see our Storyteller's reaction first though.

I see the point of letting folks enjoy their improv and letting them shine and having their creative moments. Sure! Have at! I can appreciate all of that. However, we had this Gundam fanatic once try really hard to get himself invited into the Robotech game I've been running. He was great at creating ideas out of thin air, but his ideas weren't right for the story I was running but one of his strikes against letting him in was he wanted to turn my well-thought-out Robotech game/story into Gundam. So... nope! For me, the story is the boss. And I can respect those who feel differently! =)

 

[Purr]

If there is ever a moment that a player stretches their reach a little farther than I am comfortable with, I'll let you guys know and we can reel things back a bit.

Oh yeah! One of the reasons I'm not worried about you in the driver's seat, Psychie , is because you are quick, polite, and firm to remind someone who's at the wheel here. And I love that!

Starting now. Everyone gets 2 standard xp, and 3 Lunar/Solar xp, both from the quality role playing and from the help that everyone has been giving me in my first game getting everything and everyone ready for our session.

Oh! How cool! Thanks!

Are we going to be worried about training times?

Hah! Leave it our dear Sherwood to pounce on this topic! Ha ha! =) Go get 'em, tiger!

Sounds good. Just as an FYI, I added the training time ruling to the first post of the Character thread so it is official and easily found later on.

Thank you for doing this! Now I suppose I should figure out the difference between "normal" xp and "Lunar" xp. I read through it... but it's gone now. There's a way I know to fix that though - it's called reading! Hah! =)

She considered dragging the coin out and spilling it on the ground so those innocents of the caravan

Eonivar I must have missed something. What innocents? All I remember reading about were Kerwin and his guards and I don't see how any of them are without responsibility for the state the Circle is in.

 

[Sherwood]

Normal xp can be used to buy anything you wish, while Lunar/Solar xp can be used on anything except Charms.

 

[Purr]

Psychie 1. We never got into how big Fat Cat's howdah is. Can it seat eight? Twelve? All I remember is that it didn't have saddlebags because I think you mentioned that saddlebags should count as another Artifact or something. What are you comfortable with?

1a. I'd like to use the Charm Lodestone Reckoning Manner except for two things. A. I'm not sure it's necessary (if Da Chonk has been operating in this area long enough, he might even know of the safehouse Glade or Aredin have in mind) and B. How long is a scene? Can Da Chonk use our current scene to have Glade or Aredin give him the destination, then Fat Cat can take everyone there?


- The rest of these are for anyone with a mind to answer them. I am open to suggestions. - =)

2. The chests filled with Jade Coins. O.K.. I went through the economic descriptions in the Core book but got lost in there quickly. Like the real world, certain currencies are worth more in some places and less in others and I have no idea what Jade Coins are worth wherever in Creation we are. My question is - should we be leaving these behind? Psychie, can Fat Cat use his flexibility Charm, etc. to put the chests into the spare seats of his howdah? I mean, I don't know about you guys, but my character went from nice profit-making family to dead-broke jungle family. To leave behind riches if we can instead take them with us? If we can't take the chests, could we pour the contents of the chests into the open seats of his howdah?

3. Mercy and Opal. If I read it right, Opal can fly at a maximum of 30 miles per hour/48 k.p.h.. Given Fat Cat's... "build" (huge size, four legs, giant housecat body, Dexterity, speed Mutation, speed Charm, Attribute Excellence, Athletics, Specialty, Transporter expertise, etc. , I am of the impression he can blow by something doing 30 mph with no problem and maintain that speed. If we go separately, this looks to me like we're leaving both Mercy and Opal in the literal dust and I'm sure no one wants that. Am I right about the math and situation? Fat Can can get us all out of here by himself - that's one reason I made him - to literally carry the party (unless Psychie says otherwise, of course).

3a. Opal is a giant easy-to-see-and-be-mesmerized-by demon wasp that travels through the air (above cover and terrain). I'm imagining something very easy to spot, even at night. I think this is one more reason to, if possible, ask Mercy to "dispel" Opal (return her to whence she came) and get Mercy on Fat Cat? I want to have Fat Cat point at Mercy and then up to his howdah in kind invitation but... is there something I'm missing here?

4. Fat Cat came here not only to rescue Aredin, but to get his bardy-buns back to safety. He's ready to haul the whole party, however, our resourceful Glade here knows of a safehouse and Aredin does too (if I'm following correctly). Presuming it's not the same safehouse (wouldn't that be something?), Fat Cat is going to want a destination. How does the party want to tackle this?

5. Oh. And do Solars eat? Seriously! I mean, I've read more about Lunars than Solars. The Circle was poisoned and left to rot in a rolling jail for who knows how long. Shouldn't the Solars be just about starving? I mean, if not, Da Chonk will finish all of the food he gathered, but he'd, you know, much rather share with hungry friends and potential friends. Know what I mean? =)

 

[Purr]

Normal xp can be used to buy anything you wish, while Lunar/Solar xp can be used on anything except Charms.

Thanks, bud! =)

 

[Chowlett]

Psychie - Glade has Harmonious Academic Method which (among other things) says "at any point in which the Solar succeeds at a moderately or extremely difficult roll to introduce or challenge a fact (p. 237), the player may request to add a related topic to the Solar’s library of known topics."

Did "there's a hiding manse" count? If so, may I add... hmm... "Occult Landmarks" to my repertoire of Lore?

Time to go remind myself of XP costs and figure what I want now!

 

[Eonivar]

Mercy eyes the items, and glances at Silent Glade, "Grab the lute and the boots..I will get this other stuff...I will take a look at them later and see if I can identify them, we probably should not linger here long"

I was just waiting to see if you were going to try and identify these items here and now, or wait until you were out of harms way and away from the Hunters that are on your tail.

Yup I mentioned with Mercy that she would take a look at them later. ;-)

3. Mercy and Opal. If I read it right, Opal can fly at a maximum of 30 miles per hour/48 k.p.h.. Given Fat Cat's... "build" (huge size, four legs, giant housecat body, Dexterity, speed Mutation, speed Charm, Attribute Excellence, Athletics, Specialty, Transporter expertise, etc. , I am of the impression he can blow by something doing 30 mph with no problem and maintain that speed. If we go separately, this looks to me like we're leaving both Mercy and Opal in the literal dust and I'm sure no one wants that. Am I right about the math and situation? Fat Can can get us all out of here by himself - that's one reason I made him - to literally carry the party (unless Psychie says otherwise, of course).

3a. Opal is a giant easy-to-see-and-be-mesmerized-by demon wasp that travels through the air (above cover and terrain). I'm imagining something very easy to spot, even at night. I think this is one more reason to, if possible, ask Mercy to "dispel" Opal (return her to whence she came) and get Mercy on Fat Cat? I want to have Fat Cat point at Mercy and then up to his howdah in kind invitation but... is there something I'm missing here?

Yeah, when Mercy came out she basically laid out all of the options for travel, she was not sure if there was enough room on Fat Cat or how that would work. A lot of that detail had not been revealed yet.

Regarding Opal’s visibility, Mercy is putting two and two together as you will see in the next post. It’s been a night for Mercy (and everyone), she is trying to stay focused and objective after being drugged and breaking out. She just wants to leave and be in peace at this point.

 

[Rykon]

2. The chests filled with Jade Coins. O.K.. I went through the economic descriptions in the Core book but got lost in there quickly. Like the real world, certain currencies are worth more in some places and less in others and I have no idea what Jade Coins are worth wherever in Creation we are. My question is - should we be leaving these behind?

Jade coinage is the currency of Blessed Isle where the Dragon-Blooded Empire is, and they mint and issue it. Silver is the dominant currency of the Threshold, where we're at now and it is issued and regulated by the Guild. p. 77 of the Core Book goes into greater detail on exchange rates and such. Suffice to say it has value but it also implies association with the Dynasty to some extent.

To address whether we should go out of their way to take them? Not really. Us spending money we just looted from Kerwin who is going to get questioned by the hunt could draw unwanted attention. We also have no shortage of resources ourselves given our merits. Taking them won't significantly hurt us, but won't significantly help us either. So just do what you think makes sense for the characters.

3. Mercy and Opal. If I read it right, Opal can fly at a maximum of 30 miles per hour/48 k.p.h.. Given Fat Cat's... "build" (huge size, four legs, giant housecat body, Dexterity, speed Mutation, speed Charm, Attribute Excellence, Athletics, Specialty, Transporter expertise, etc. , I am of the impression he can blow by something doing 30 mph with no problem and maintain that speed. If we go separately, this looks to me like we're leaving both Mercy and Opal in the literal dust and I'm sure no one wants that. Am I right about the math and situation? Fat Can can get us all out of here by himself - that's one reason I made him - to literally carry the party (unless Psychie says otherwise, of course).

Run speed in previous editions was something you could very much calculate but in 3E it's a little more different given how vague and abstracted certain rules are. Though, I can tell you who is not going 30mph... and it's the people with an army. As long as we can outpace them, that's the most important factor for now.

3a. Opal is a giant easy-to-see-and-be-mesmerized-by demon wasp that travels through the air (above cover and terrain). I'm imagining something very easy to spot, even at night. I think this is one more reason to, if possible, ask Mercy to "dispel" Opal (return her to whence she came) and get Mercy on Fat Cat? I want to have Fat Cat point at Mercy and then up to his howdah in kind invitation but... is there something I'm missing here?

The simple answer is for the Wasp to go immaterial or return to Mercy's anima. Demons and Gods aren't naturally in the material world anyway, so this is an incredibly minor thing.

4. Fat Cat came here not only to rescue Aredin, but to get his bardy-buns back to safety. He's ready to haul the whole party, however, our resourceful Glade here knows of a safehouse and Aredin does too (if I'm following correctly). Presuming it's not the same safehouse (wouldn't that be something?), Fat Cat is going to want a destination. How does the party want to tackle this?

As far as I know, Glade has a destination in mind and Aredin will ask for a detour through a town to throw off those tracking their trail. between entering on giant cat, leaving on foot for a ways in the unexpected direction before returning to catbus mode we should be able to at least confuse our tail on the way to Glade's proposed hiding spot.

5. Oh. And do Solars eat? Seriously! I mean, I've read more about Lunars than Solars. The Circle was poisoned and left to rot in a rolling jail for who knows how long. Shouldn't the Solars be just about starving? I mean, if not, Da Chonk will finish all of the food he gathered, but he'd, you know, much rather share with hungry friends and potential friends. Know what I mean? =)

Maybe, maybe not. Going without food for a day or two isn't a terribly big deal speaking from experience. I can't imagine one as hardy as an Exalt would be crippled by merely fasting for a short time if mortals aren't. Though I suppose everyone's situation is different to some extent.

 

[Eonivar]

Also note that Opal is Mercy’s bound familiar through one of Mercy’s caste mark abilities:

For 10 motes, the Twilight may touch an Essence 1-3 elemental or a demon of the first circle, conjoining its Essence to her anima. Roll Intelligence + Occult against the creature’s Resolve. If successful, this creates a pact that changes the spirit into her familiar, allowing her to target it with applicable Survival Charms. In addition, the Twilight can reflexively summon the spirit instantly for three motes, drawing it through the Essence of the world to appear beside her. She may banish the creature again, reflexively, for free, returning it to the tides of Essence that suffuse Creation until needed. The Twilight may have up to (Essence) spirit familiars bound in this fashion at once.

Yeah eventually Mercy will be a Pokedemon trainer… ;-)

 

[Eonivar]

I will say that I have thoroughly been enjoying this game, I am looking forward to some discussion and interaction between the party in game.

 

[Purr]

It’s been a night for Mercy (and everyone), she is trying to stay focused and objective after being drugged and breaking out. She just wants to leave and be in peace at this point.

That's something Mercy and Fat Cat already have in common - that's what he wants for all of you.

To address whether we should go out of their way to take them? Not really. Us spending money we just looted from Kerwin who is going to get questioned by the hunt could draw unwanted attention. We also have no shortage of resources ourselves given our merits. Taking them won't significantly hurt us, but won't significantly help us either. So just do what you think makes sense for the characters.

Yes! These are the sorts of things I wanted to know.

As far as I know, Glade has a destination in mind and Aredin will ask for a detour through a town to throw off those tracking their trail. between entering on giant cat, leaving on foot for a ways in the unexpected direction before returning to catbus mode we should be able to at least confuse our tail on the way to Glade's proposed hiding spot.

Concerning leaving trails, Aredin may be in for a pleasant surprise. =)

Maybe, maybe not. Going without food for a day or two isn't a terribly big deal speaking from experience. I can't imagine one as hardy as an Exalt would be crippled by merely fasting for a short time if mortals aren't. Though I suppose everyone's situation is different to some extent.

Thanks for your perspective, Rykon! Your entire post leaves a lot to consider. =)

I will say that I have thoroughly been enjoying this game, I am looking forward to some discussion and interaction between the party in game.

Me too! =)

 

[Purr]

Assuming that there is no reason to delay, am I free to presume that you set off on your journey?

Psychie Almost. I'd like to use the Charm Lodestone Reckoning Manner except for two things:

A. I'm not sure it's necessary (if Da Chonk has been operating in this area long enough, he might even know of the safehouse Glade has in mind or at least how to get to the area its in) and...

B. How long is a scene? Can Da Chonk use our current scene to have Glade give him the destination, then Fat Cat can take everyone there without the need for further direction? Or no?

Please advise?

Here's the why behind this: if Da Chonk learns how to get to Glade's safehouse on his own, he can take routes that he would take were he alone (instead of Glade having to tell Da Chonk, "Turn here," "go left," "up that hill," and so forth).

This, I feel, could make for a very fun post which I sure wouldn't mind writing. But if you'd rather a simple post, whatever is best for the game is... best! =)

 

[Psychie]

A. I'm not sure it's necessary (if Da Chonk has been operating in this area long enough, he might even know of the safehouse Glade has in mind or at least how to get to the area its in) and...

At this point, you are not sure about the location you are going to.

B. How long is a scene? Can Da Chonk use our current scene to have Glade give him the destination, then Fat Cat can take everyone there without the need for further direction? Or no?

The length of a scene is a bit fluid. In combat, it will last the whole fight. Out of combat, it depends on when there is a good stopping point. The next 'scene' you are in will be the travel time to the hidden manse that Glade knows of, and that will be a few hours.

Does that help out a bit?

 

[Purr]

At this point, you are not sure about the location you are going to.

The length of a scene is a bit fluid. In combat, it will last the whole fight. Out of combat, it depends on when there is a good stopping point. The next 'scene' you are in will be the travel time to the hidden manse that Glade knows of, and that will be a few hours.

Does that help out a bit?

Psychie A bit but I'm not "out of the woods" yet. If Glade can tell Fat Cat where the Hideout is, and if it is feasible for Fat Cat to plot a course and use the Lodestone Charm, I'd like to do that. I think that gives us an advantage and I could write a (fun) scene to that effect.

There is the added benefit of him being able to get there his own way which the Wyld Hunt might find... a bit taxing to try and follow. =)

Is this feasible or will it take up too much time?

Edit: if you want me to go into more details without spilling the beans here, I can tell you in Conversation. =)

 

[Psychie]

He can direct you and as you get closer, you will be able to start to sense the effects of the geomancy of the manse and know you are getting close, but even with the Charm, you don't know exactly where you are heading yet.

 

[Purr]

O.K.. if I follow you, this means that Glade can give Fat Cat a general direction. Fat Cat can take off full-speed in that direction until he picks up the geomancy of the manse, then Glade can guide him to the destination proper?

Yes?

 

[Psychie]

Yup.

 

[Sherwood]

I'm just waiting for us to have the time to identify these artifacts and hearthstones.

 

[Psychie]

lol Soon enough, Sherwood.

 

[Purr]

Cool! Chowlett Do you want to go ahead and do this? Have Glade give O Mighty Fat Cat the general direction/destination and I can toss in a post showing how Fat Cat gets everyone there?

 

[Purr]

He can direct you and as you get closer, you will be able to start to sense the effects of the geomancy of the manse and know you are getting close, but even with the Charm, you don't know exactly where you are heading yet.

We can "sense the effects of the geomancy of the manse." Man, that's deep. =)

I'm just waiting for us to have the time to identify these artifacts and hearthstones.

I'll admit too that I am looking forward to seeing what these bad boys can do. I don't know enough about this game to have an idea of what we've found.

Psychie I may have missed it. When Fat Cat searched the guard that was with Kerwin, did he come up with anything? I'd really be smacking myself upside my head if ol' Kermit Kerwin slipped the guard something so that we wouldn't get it. =)

 

[Psychie]

He had nothing of tremendous value. Just a small handful of coins in a belt pouch.

 

[Purr]

Cool. No secret messages. No scrolls with "Don't let them find this!" written on it. =)

 

[Purr]

Glade leaned down from his position just above Fat Cat's head, and spoke directly into one enormous ear. "We're heading northeast. Soon we will meet a stand of maple trees set slightly apart from the surrounding forests. From there, a stream flows north - we will follow it upstream for some distance until it forks. Then east, and the land will become broken and hard to traverse. A blasted oak stands high on one ridge, and from there it is but a short run along a ravine floor to reach the manse."

"That is the most direct route. If you, Cat, or any of you others wish to throw off our trackers, then please do so to whatever extent you choose. I will still be able to find the manse afterwards."

That answers that! Thanks, Chowlett ! =)

 

[Eonivar]

I'm just waiting for us to have the time to identify these artifacts and hearthstones.

A bit impatient for the fat loots? Well you are able to ask Mercy to look at them while they are traveling, provided it is not an overly bumpy ride.