JayTee
Eight Thousand Club
I know, but as a general rule. I don't want to walk in to a situation thinking I can handle it only to find out I'm out matched.
[Nightmares of the Second Age] The Daily Scribe
- Thread starter Sherwood
- Start date
Lord-Leafar
Two Thousand Club
Are you planning to walk into the Realm and claim the Imperial Manse right on day 1 of your reawakening? Come on dude, look at the Bull of the North, sure he must have sidereal allies helping him cover some of his actions, but he united a group of barbarians and stood up against a Realm legion, you were Exalted because you were a hero, a hero needs to take risks eventually.JayTee said:
MaHaSuchi's700
Seducing them all, one Celestial at a time
[QUOTE="Lord-Leafar]Are you planning to walk into the Realm and claim the Imperial Manse right on day 1 of your reawakening? Come on dude, look at the Bull of the North, sure he must have sidereal allies helping him cover some of his actions, but he united a group of barbarians and stood up against a Realm legion, you were Exalted because you were a hero, a hero needs to take risks eventually.
[/QUOTE]
This, a thousand times, THIS.
tl;dr stop being such a baby
[/QUOTE]
This, a thousand times, THIS.
tl;dr stop being such a baby
JayTee
Eight Thousand Club
No, but if I see a Realm Legion gunning for me, I'd like to know if my reaction should be "I can take them", "time for hit-and-run tactics" or "time for a strategic retreat"
Lord-Leafar
Two Thousand Club
Personally not taking external factors and context for the situation, Aurora's reaction would be rush into the center of the Legion, duel the commander(s) of it, completely overpower him/them and either force his legion to retreat, or beat him so badly that his soldiers will be terrified to fight me, and so I gain time and prepare for when they send a new legion to attack me again.
Want a different approach? Guerrilla tactics, demoralize them and don't give them time to strike you with decent force, I mean you do have a night caste capable of training an elite group of ninjas for things like these....
Think outside the box man, be heroic, heroes in the movies gain admiration by doing that crazy stuff you know would never work in real life, Exalted is all about that.
Want a different approach? Guerrilla tactics, demoralize them and don't give them time to strike you with decent force, I mean you do have a night caste capable of training an elite group of ninjas for things like these....
Think outside the box man, be heroic, heroes in the movies gain admiration by doing that crazy stuff you know would never work in real life, Exalted is all about that.
Esbilon
Seven Thousand Club
Rose would do the same to a Realm legion as to a group of stalkers. Only this time, she'd be serious about it.
Esbilon
Seven Thousand Club
@Sherwood, do I get a stunting reward for that little speech? 
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
Speak for yourselves...Skadi has been a little behindhand on raising her Essence...
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
I have two manses in my head, and I'm trying to decide which one I like better:
Level 3 Air Manse
The walls of Skadi's palace are formed of drifted snow, and the windows and doors of the cutting winds. There are more than a hundred rooms in it, all as if they had been formed with snow blown together. Some of them extend for miles; they are all lighted up by the vivid light of the aurora, and they are so large and empty, so icy cold and glittering! There are no amusements here, not even a bear's ball, with the storm for music. Barren, vast and cold are these halls. The flickering flame of the northern lights can be plainly seen, whether they rise high or low in the heavens, from every part of the palace. In the midst of its endless halls of snow is a frozen lake, broken on its surface into a thousand forms; each piece resembles another, from being in itself perfect as a work of art. Anyone who sees this puzzle is overcome by the desire to solve it, remaining lost in contemplation until a cold death takes them. In the center of this lake the hearthstone forms, and here sits Skadi when she is at home.
The manse is guarded by a regiment of snowflakes; they are not however, like the ones that fall from the sky, which is quite clear and glittering with the northern lights. These are larger, and much more terrible, for they are alive, and have the strangest shapes. Some are like great porcupines, others like twisted serpents with their heads stretching out, and some few are like little fat bears with their hair bristled; but all are dazzlingly white, and all are living snowflakes.
Game Effects: (Manse's rating of 3) x 2 + Habitability 1 + Fragility 1 = 8 Creation Points. Originally a faerie freehold, the Winter Palace is Outside Fate (4). It has the "Essence-blurred maze" and "infinitely long hallway" tricks (1) described in Oadenol's Codex on p. 67, requiring rolls of (Intelligence + Investigation) and (Intelligence + Awareness), respectively, to solve. Completing the ice puzzle in the hearthroom requires an (Intelligence + Lore) roll at a difficulty equal to the hearthstone bearer's Essence. The living snowflakes are a Bound Servant Force (3).
Level 3 Wood Manse
From the outside, this manse appears to be merely a gigantic kapok tree, unusual in size, but not unheard of in the far East. However, a portion of the trunk is hollow: concealed among its roots, an opening sized for a lithe human leads into a series of rooms connected by ladders and trapdoors. A flowing, shadowed geomancy, reflecting the reclusive Skadi's desire for privacy, overlays the whole manse, making magical eavesdropping difficult.
The rooms are rustic, and were even when the manse was first constructed; luminous fungi and large snails with gently glowing pearlescent shells provide soft light in the upper rooms and ridges in the wood channel rain and dew into conveniently placed runnels and basins within the tree, but there is not much luxury here from a First Age perspective. (The snails and fungi are, however, not only edible but delicious enough to satisfy a gourmet.) The hearthstone grows out of the floor of the lowest room.
The small god of the tree is somewhat intelligent and will speak with the bearer of the hearthstone if it occurs to her to try, although it is unlikely to initiate a conversation. It does not particularly understand or care about the doings of humans, but it knows a great deal about the forest. It can teach what it knows…if its pupil is very patient.
Game Effects: (Manse’s rating of 3) x 2 = 6 Creation Points. A Veil of Shadows (2) protects the peace of those who reside within, imposing a -2 external penalty on anyone attempting to spy on them from outside. This applies to scrying magic and other methods of distant perception. The tree’s little god is an Archive (2) for purposes of learning Survival (Forests) or Survival (Hunting). The indoor lighting, running water and a small food supply are Magical Conveniences (1), while Subtle Breath of Sextes Jylis (1) maintains a comfortable indoor temperature and keeps pests away.
Opinions?
The walls of Skadi's palace are formed of drifted snow, and the windows and doors of the cutting winds. There are more than a hundred rooms in it, all as if they had been formed with snow blown together. Some of them extend for miles; they are all lighted up by the vivid light of the aurora, and they are so large and empty, so icy cold and glittering! There are no amusements here, not even a bear's ball, with the storm for music. Barren, vast and cold are these halls. The flickering flame of the northern lights can be plainly seen, whether they rise high or low in the heavens, from every part of the palace. In the midst of its endless halls of snow is a frozen lake, broken on its surface into a thousand forms; each piece resembles another, from being in itself perfect as a work of art. Anyone who sees this puzzle is overcome by the desire to solve it, remaining lost in contemplation until a cold death takes them. In the center of this lake the hearthstone forms, and here sits Skadi when she is at home.
The manse is guarded by a regiment of snowflakes; they are not however, like the ones that fall from the sky, which is quite clear and glittering with the northern lights. These are larger, and much more terrible, for they are alive, and have the strangest shapes. Some are like great porcupines, others like twisted serpents with their heads stretching out, and some few are like little fat bears with their hair bristled; but all are dazzlingly white, and all are living snowflakes.
Game Effects: (Manse's rating of 3) x 2 + Habitability 1 + Fragility 1 = 8 Creation Points. Originally a faerie freehold, the Winter Palace is Outside Fate (4). It has the "Essence-blurred maze" and "infinitely long hallway" tricks (1) described in Oadenol's Codex on p. 67, requiring rolls of (Intelligence + Investigation) and (Intelligence + Awareness), respectively, to solve. Completing the ice puzzle in the hearthroom requires an (Intelligence + Lore) roll at a difficulty equal to the hearthstone bearer's Essence. The living snowflakes are a Bound Servant Force (3).
Level 3 Wood Manse
From the outside, this manse appears to be merely a gigantic kapok tree, unusual in size, but not unheard of in the far East. However, a portion of the trunk is hollow: concealed among its roots, an opening sized for a lithe human leads into a series of rooms connected by ladders and trapdoors. A flowing, shadowed geomancy, reflecting the reclusive Skadi's desire for privacy, overlays the whole manse, making magical eavesdropping difficult.
The rooms are rustic, and were even when the manse was first constructed; luminous fungi and large snails with gently glowing pearlescent shells provide soft light in the upper rooms and ridges in the wood channel rain and dew into conveniently placed runnels and basins within the tree, but there is not much luxury here from a First Age perspective. (The snails and fungi are, however, not only edible but delicious enough to satisfy a gourmet.) The hearthstone grows out of the floor of the lowest room.
The small god of the tree is somewhat intelligent and will speak with the bearer of the hearthstone if it occurs to her to try, although it is unlikely to initiate a conversation. It does not particularly understand or care about the doings of humans, but it knows a great deal about the forest. It can teach what it knows…if its pupil is very patient.
Game Effects: (Manse’s rating of 3) x 2 = 6 Creation Points. A Veil of Shadows (2) protects the peace of those who reside within, imposing a -2 external penalty on anyone attempting to spy on them from outside. This applies to scrying magic and other methods of distant perception. The tree’s little god is an Archive (2) for purposes of learning Survival (Forests) or Survival (Hunting). The indoor lighting, running water and a small food supply are Magical Conveniences (1), while Subtle Breath of Sextes Jylis (1) maintains a comfortable indoor temperature and keeps pests away.
Opinions?
Feantari
Water Sprite
I found an ST
JayTee
Eight Thousand Club
@Ayrnne: The tree has more of a Yggdrasil feel if you're going for Norse thematics
@Feantari: So you're saying that the ST is an unshaped Raksha? Suddenly it all makes sense....
@Feantari: So you're saying that the ST is an unshaped Raksha? Suddenly it all makes sense....
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
HA HA
Skadi will return to find a grumpy elemental dragon below and a hawk god above are quarreling over who should control the manse, while a raksha disguised as a squirrel runs back and forth stirring up trouble.
Skadi will return to find a grumpy elemental dragon below and a hawk god above are quarreling over who should control the manse, while a raksha disguised as a squirrel runs back and forth stirring up trouble.
JayTee
Eight Thousand Club
All of my yes
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
For it to really be Yggdrasil, though, there should be at least one Otherworldly portal hidden in the tree somewhere...hmmm...
(Well, technically three: one to Yu Shan, one to the Deep Wyld, and one to the Underworld, but that would be too much for even a powerful manse.
Though maybe there are three manses, all connected...)
Hmmm....
(Well, technically three: one to Yu Shan, one to the Deep Wyld, and one to the Underworld, but that would be too much for even a powerful manse.
Though maybe there are three manses, all connected...)
Hmmm....
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
OK. Rather than Magical Conveniences and such, the tree Yggdrasil is a Network Node and Geomantic Nexus. It draws power from three sacred wells (Water manses), allowing it to open portals above, below or beyond. However, all three Geomantic Relay points have to commit Essence to Yggdrasil for the portals to function, and who knows what's happened to those other manses, or who holds their hearthstones now?
JayTee
Eight Thousand Club
Sounds like you just made your own side quest 
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
So...
From the outside, this manse appears to be merely a gigantic ceiba tree, unusual in size, but not unheard of in the far East. However, a portion of the trunk is hollow: concealed among its roots, an opening sized for a lithe human leads into a series of rooms connected by ladders and trapdoors. A flowing, shadowed geomancy overlays the whole, making magical eavesdropping difficult. The rooms are rustic, and were even when the manse was first constructed: ridges in the wood channel rain and dew into conveniently placed runnels and basins within the tree, but there are no luxuries here.
The true power of the Tree lies in its hearthstone chamber, where three elaborately carved archways surround a rune-etched central dais. The first archway depicts the gold and silver streets and begemmed towers of Yu Shan. The second is carved with weeping faces and shrieking skulls. The third shows strange, cephalopod monsters and bizarre vistas that hurt the eyes. From the dais, the hearthstone bearer can command any of the three portals to activate, providing passage into Yu Shan, the Underworld or the Wyld.
The Tree's power to do this, however, comes from its geomantic links to three other manses. Who knows who might hold their hearthstones now, or even if they have survived the centuries undamaged?
Game Effects: (Manse's rating of 3) x 2 = 6 Creation Points. However, the Tree of Ways is the central Nexus (1) of a series of Geomantic Nodes (1), giving it an additional 15 Creation points in the form of three Otherworldly Portals (5 each) which the manse's owner may open from a Central Control room (2). In addition, a Veil of Shadows (2) imposes a -2 external penalty on anyone attempting to spy on the Tree's workings from outside. This applies to scrying magic and other methods of distant perception. The Tree's hearthstone, a Stone of the Sure Path, forms in a chalice of jade and emerald on the central dais.
Level 3 Wood Manse
From the outside, this manse appears to be merely a gigantic ceiba tree, unusual in size, but not unheard of in the far East. However, a portion of the trunk is hollow: concealed among its roots, an opening sized for a lithe human leads into a series of rooms connected by ladders and trapdoors. A flowing, shadowed geomancy overlays the whole, making magical eavesdropping difficult. The rooms are rustic, and were even when the manse was first constructed: ridges in the wood channel rain and dew into conveniently placed runnels and basins within the tree, but there are no luxuries here.
The true power of the Tree lies in its hearthstone chamber, where three elaborately carved archways surround a rune-etched central dais. The first archway depicts the gold and silver streets and begemmed towers of Yu Shan. The second is carved with weeping faces and shrieking skulls. The third shows strange, cephalopod monsters and bizarre vistas that hurt the eyes. From the dais, the hearthstone bearer can command any of the three portals to activate, providing passage into Yu Shan, the Underworld or the Wyld.
The Tree's power to do this, however, comes from its geomantic links to three other manses. Who knows who might hold their hearthstones now, or even if they have survived the centuries undamaged?
Game Effects: (Manse's rating of 3) x 2 = 6 Creation Points. However, the Tree of Ways is the central Nexus (1) of a series of Geomantic Nodes (1), giving it an additional 15 Creation points in the form of three Otherworldly Portals (5 each) which the manse's owner may open from a Central Control room (2). In addition, a Veil of Shadows (2) imposes a -2 external penalty on anyone attempting to spy on the Tree's workings from outside. This applies to scrying magic and other methods of distant perception. The Tree's hearthstone, a Stone of the Sure Path, forms in a chalice of jade and emerald on the central dais.
JayTee
Eight Thousand Club
Snazzy
MaHaSuchi's700
Seducing them all, one Celestial at a time
Looks good to me!
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
That leaves Skadi with a one-dot manse somewhere...a Viking-style longhouse like Beorn's, perhaps?
Esbilon
Seven Thousand Club
But, but, but... Yggradsil is an ash treeArynne said:
JayTee
Eight Thousand Club
It's the East, every tree looks like every other tree the closer you get to the elemental pole
Esbilon
Seven Thousand Club
I disagree entirely with that sentiment. I may be disagreeing with the writers of Exalted, but I am disagreeing none the less!
Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
I know it's an ash tree. That's why it's called "the Tree of Ways" and not Yggdrasil. 
Besides, I thought this manse might possibly be somewhere in the Southeast. So, ceiba tree.
Besides, I thought this manse might possibly be somewhere in the Southeast. So, ceiba tree.
JayTee
Eight Thousand Club
Just a heads up: on wednesday I'm going to be heading in for surgery on my hand at around 5 am. The doctors say I'll be needing a few days of recovery afterward, so post-wednesday it's likely that I wont be able to get any posting done until the weekend.