Need help making a character

[Locnil]

Hi, I'm new to Exalted, and I'll be playing in a Pbp game sometime soon. As I'm still somewhat clueless about the mechanics, I hope that some of you can help suggest some tips for my build.


I don't really have a build yet. I'll be playing a Day Caste Abyssal Exalted (I might be able to change it to Midnight Caste if it's better). I'm hoping to focus on combat and sorcery, maybe some crafting. House rules are that we'll be using the Dawn Appendix character generation rules, Everyone starts with 200 xp, Everyone gets one extra -0 health level per dot of Essence in addition to any they might have from purchases of Ox-Body Technique, Essence 3 (and only Essence 3) costs 5 bonus points, Everyone gets 5 free Excellencies chosen from their Caste and Favored Abilities. I can only have one free Excellency per ability, New fields of Craft can be opened by paying the cost of a one-dot Craft specialty. Anyone who buys dots in Craft starts with one free field. This specialty does not add dice to Craft rolls, There are only 9 fields of Craft: Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, Glamour, Magitech, Vitriol and Genesis. Any other Craft ability either uses another Craft, the lower of Craft and another ability, or Lore, Sorcery and necromancy initiation Charms grant one spell of the appropriate circle for free, Artifact reinforced breastplate costs 2 dots, while artifact articulated plate and superheavy plate cost 3 dots, Homebrew, flaws and merits must be approved by the ST first and is allowed on a provisional basis.


Oh, and I probably have access to most Exalted material (A RL friend owns most of the books) If it helps.


Thanks in advance,


Locnil

 

[Thanqol]

Good Heavens, you're going to have a *lot* of stuff to work with there.


First off, I want to caution you about playing an Abyssal. They look cool, and they have a lot of fun stories in them, but you will be limited in a lot of ways that Solars are not. In particular, the default reaction to your anima is going to be civilians clawing their eyes out. So make sure you're cool with being the horrifying non-thing in the group (unless of course it's an Abyssal game).


To focus on combat, Sorcery and crafting you'll need to favour Occult, Craft (Lore if you want to craft artifacts - artifact creation rules are really, really weird), and any one of melee, archery, MA or Thrown. I'd advise using your remaining favoured for something Social. With a Sorcerer, I like Martial Arts because you can use it with Wood Dragon's Claw to get an absolutely devastating weapon.


In terms of sorcery in combat, direct damage spells are generally not your best bet. You can't use defenses while you're casting and this tends to mean you'll die unless defended well by allies - and at the power level this game is set at, most enemies will probably have Perfects, making Sorcery a poor direct damage option. You'll want to use it's combat settings for personal buffs, like Incomparable Body Arsenal and Wood Dragon's Claw. Note you won't be able to get Solar sorcery as an Abyssal, so Necromancy might be more tempting.


Invest in a bunch of utility spells. Get at least one mass transit spell, and one communication spell - this is the stuff you'll use a whole bunch more than combat spells. Also get Magma Kraken.


Dodge is favoured, so get the Abyssal equivalent of Seven Shadows Evasion - a perfect dodge - and put it in a combo with your favourite offensive charm. With this combo, your motes are your hit points. Your health levels are a sort of last ditch defense; damage to them is desperation-final-stand time.


After that, you'll still have tonnes of XP so make sure all your favoured skills are at 5. You can easily afford Essence 4, and a whole bunch of charms. Attribute purchases are generally not cost effective. You'll have your essential stuff down, so you can start branching into new areas.


Good luck!

 

[Brickwall]

Granted, a goodguy Abyssal shouldn't be using Void Circle Necromancy anyway, so why not go for Sorcery?


Honestly, if you're doing Combat/Sorcery as your primary focus, I have no idea why you're playing a Day Caste. Yes, Day and Night Castes are sort of OP when it comes to selection of Favored Abilities, compared to other Exalts, but one of the few things they don't help you much with is Sorcery. You can't be stealthy while doing it, nor can you be mobile. Another Caste might have more options to protect you while you're waving around your big ol' "SHOOT ME" flag in the midst of battle. Dawn and Daybreak are generally considered the best contenders for this sort of thing.


Thanqol covered most of the important points, though.

 

[Locnil]

Wow, I didn't expect anyone to reply this fast. Thanks, guys.


And to answer the questions, its supposed to be a halloween special, so its an Abyssals-only game. I came late, so only the Day Caste and the Midnight Caste slots were left open. And I didn't want to do necromancy because I thought Sorcery looked more useful.


The main thing now is, shockingly I keep running out of xp for the things I want (probably because I want too many cool charms) so I was hoping some of you could suggest some priority things I could get with 200xp. Thanks, again.


Alternatively, has anyone here played Abyssals before and has a character sheet I can look at?

 

[Thanqol]

I contest that day caste skills 'don't help you' with sorcery. If you favour Occult, that's all the 'help' you need with Sorcery, period. Sorcery is generally more useful than Necromancy (Summon Demon is basically the "I Win" button of any situation), but Necromancy's stuff can't be easily replicated - and with this guy's houserules, which include a free spell with the purchase of the Necromancy charm, I figure it'd even be worth it to grab a small handful of Necromancy.


Priorities are pretty much at this point what you reckon is coolest. Get the weapon you want, get your favourite offensive charm, get your SSE and combo with your favourite offensive charm and you'll be set for combat. Make sure every favoured skill has an Excellency (Note: Skills with static ratings, like Dodge and Integrity, benefit hugely out of the 3rd Excellency which is 4m for a 2x multiplier for static ratings. The 3rd ex is otherwise terrible). That's what you need to stay alive. Beyond that, it's genuinely whatever's coolest. Set your own priorities and realize your concept.


Just remember the sheer, demented usefulness of long range communications and rapid transit. Use sorcery to cover both. Because the interesting thing about Exalted is that no one can send long range messages without it - it's a massive, massive edge.

 

[Locnil]

What necromancy spells would you recommend?


P.S. Where can I find stats for demons/ghosts to summon?

 

[Vikingnewt]

roll of glorious divinity 2 i believe has al sorts of cool creepies to summon


and ofc the latter half of the book is dedicated to the undead.


essential reading for going the sorcerous route is ofc the black and white treatises have fun

 

[Thanqol]

The first Necromancy spell I'd really recommend is Gentle Call of Lethe. No, really. It does what amounts to nothing, even if you use it, but it's the ultimate facepunch to the Neverborn. It's other major use is the ability to kill high level Exalts without risking creating another Deathlord. And it's also the most beautiful gift and act of mercy an Abyssal can bestow.


It's one of the nicest Necromancy spells out there and is worth it for that reason.


That said if you're a group of Loyalists then Shattering Void Mirror is super effective against Gods (see: Gods have tonnes of health levels). Also, some way to transition to the underworld reliably is always helpful.

 

[Locnil]

Thanks guys. Just one more question. Is there anything that automatically reduces all aggravated damage you take to lethal?

 

[Thanqol]

Thanks guys. Just one more question. Is there anything that automatically reduces all aggravated damage you take to lethal?

Not that I know of. Aggravated damage is nasty, though. It's people ripping your soul out or fusing your flesh to your bones or turning your blood to lead. It's the kind of stuff there's not really much defense against at all, and it's hella hard to heal.

 

[Kyeudo]

Thanks guys. Just one more question. Is there anything that automatically reduces all aggravated damage you take to lethal?

Not that I know of. Aggravated damage is nasty, though. It's people ripping your soul out or fusing your flesh to your bones or turning your blood to lead. It's the kind of stuff there's not really much defense against at all, and it's hella hard to heal.

Unless you are a ghost, in which case Bashing damage is the bane of your existance.

 

[Locnil]

Ok, nevermind then. Thanks!

 

[Thanqol]

Ok, nevermind then. Thanks!

Like, for an idea of how bad Aggravated damage is: There's a Solar Charm which has one function, to convert existing aggravated damage into lethal damage. It doesn't even heal it. It makes it "Just" lethal. It's almost the definition of the stuff that bypasses your resistances. When a Werewolf takes a silver bullet, that's Aggravated damage.

 

[Locnil]

Like, for an idea of how bad Aggravated damage is: There's a Solar Charm which has one function, to convert existing aggravated damage into lethal damage. It doesn't even heal it. It makes it "Just" lethal. It's almost the definition of the stuff that bypasses your resistances. When a Werewolf takes a silver bullet, that's Aggravated damage.


I see. Which Solar Charm is it?

 

[Thanqol]

Wound Cleansing Meditation, in the Medicine tree.

 

[Locnil]

OK. Can that charm be combined with the hearthstone Gem of Adamant Skin to reduce all damage you take to bashing?

 

[Thanqol]

OK. Can that charm be combined with the hearthstone Gem of Adamant Skin to reduce all damage you take to bashing?

Nope. It's a medicine charm. It's sitting down and doing doctor stuff on wounds you already have. Say you take 5 Aggravated damage - one use of that charm, if you succeed a roll, will transform that existing damage into 5 lethal damage. Gem of Adamant Skin never factors into this process.