Return of the Scarlet Empress

[Ledaal Kajiri]

A few of my friends (and myself) are not happy with the fact that the book merely exists.

Eh. It's an adventure. Do you automatically assume that all the three adventures in the back of the Autchthonian's book from 1E were cannon? I know I didn't, though I have made use of some of them in a game. But what you use, is up to you, no?

 

[MrMephistopheles]

A few of my friends (and myself) are not happy with the fact that the book merely exists.

Eh. It's an adventure. Do you automatically assume that all the three adventures in the back of the Autchthonian's book from 1E were cannon? I know I didn't, though I have made use of some of them in a game. But what you use, is up to you, no?

This. I just cannot muster emotional ire over something that is a giant optional book of what if scenarios. That said, there have been hints the book will also contain stuff like artifacts and charms that can be used in any game so there's always that.

 

[wardog]

yeah. just like the end-times books for the old World Of Darkness. They gave you the framework of a few possible stories with how their signature characters may fit in, and then give you a few suggestions on how to do your own. I've preferred that to other systems' modules where everything has to go a certain way.

 

[Joe_Mello]

Thread necromancy, go!


Having picked up the Exalted one-off from Free RPG Day, there are some interesting plot points related to RotSE.

Spoiler

[*]The Empress announced her arrival by blowing up Thorns


[*]Either the Empress isn't all there, or she has someone on board


[*]The setting is starting to shift to the Third Age, referred to as the "end of days"

Addressing an earlier thing, my concern is not whether this is canon, but that it will be generally regarded and treated as canon, even though Rule Zero is still applicable. It's one thing to move the story along (which I'm in favor of), but it's another thing to do so by removing one of the setting's major plot points. It's not the worst thing ever, but it's still a bit of a downer.

 

[Teln]

Please tell me that they're explicit about this being heavily subject to Rule Zero.

 

[Plague of Hats]

Addressing an earlier thing' date=' my concern is not whether this is canon, but that it will be generally regarded and treated as canon, even though Rule Zero is still applicable.[/quote']As always, that's kind of up to the individual malfunctions of the fans.

It's one thing to move the story along (which I'm in favor of), but it's another thing to do so by removing one of the setting's major plot points.

"Go ahead and change the setting, but not in any meaningful way."?

Please tell me that they're explicit about this being heavily subject to Rule Zero.

At this point, in my ideal world, there'd be a giant sidebar within the first few pages excoriating the fans simultaneously for their lack of imagination (thus the purchase of a scenario book) and for any deviation from the crushing, benthic weight of the plots therein. The language would be sloppy and childish, and clearly a joke. I imagine some depressing majority of the internet fan-base would take it quite seriously.

 

[chalicier]

The nerdrage over this on the Intertubes in the last few days has been a sight to behold. RPG.net in particular has been hilarious.

 

[chalicier]

Just to add, the PDF is now available for free download from DriveThruRPG. It's really rather excellent.

 

[Jaksio]

I downloaded it and finished reading. And am I the only person that think that ending of UtR is White Wolf attempt to prepare us what they plan to do about Exalted 3rd edition?

 

[Heaven's Thunder Hammer]

The nerdrage over this on the Intertubes in the last few days has been a sight to behold. RPG.net in particular has been hilarious.

Good grief, the nerdrage is all over most of the Exalted Forums I go to... The funniest part? Most of it because they haven't even read the PDF.

 

[Haku1]

Indeed.


Tis amusing. I enjoyed the write-up on the Imperial Manse.


Althou, I kind of DO want to run an Imperial Manse one-shot, but dare not. I dare not do so.

 

[Aasharu]

I'm rather surprised at the ending there, about the Lotus Massacre, and the death of all the Sidereals. That must have taken some doing.

 

[Jaksio]

I'm rather surprised at the ending there, about the Lotus Massacre, and the death of all the Sidereals. That must have taken some doing.

I wonder were this massacre took place and what forces and powers Scarlet Emptess used to murder such group of Celestial level exalted. Sidreals might be weak in direct confrontation but they still have their reality shaping Kung-Fu magic.

 

[Haku1]

Unless someone hit them with a spell that says "no" to shaping effects

 

[DasDom]

For my campaign focusing on the deathlords, I'll just ignore Return of the Scarlet Empress...but since my major campaign is somewhat more focused on demons (I've already planed to use Raksi as an Akuma;driven into it by her wish to learn solar circle sorcery)...so getting rid of Thorns via plot device is fine by me, it's not like the mask DIED through the attack...but I will also nuke the capital of the player's realm with a second salvo...that should give them the impetus to infiltrate the imperial manse.

 

[Aasharu]

I'm rather surprised at the ending there, about the Lotus Massacre, and the death of all the Sidereals. That must have taken some doing.

I wonder were this massacre took place and what forces and powers Scarlet Emptess used to murder such group of Celestial level exalted. Sidreals might be weak in direct confrontation but they still have their reality shaping Kung-Fu magic.

According to the PDF, the halls of the Bureau of Destiny ran red with the blood of the Maiden's Chosen, with the Empress being the one who personally plucked out Chejop Kejak's eyes, then whispered a secret taunt in his ear as she cut his throat. Which has to be a shitty way for an Essence 10 Sidereal Grandmaster, alive since the very start of the First Age, to go. I mean, damn.

 

[Jaksio]

But how strong Empress is alone? In whole 2 ed we can find mentioning about dozen few centuries old sidereal that also mastered few Celestial Martial Arts styles and to many less Sidereal ones.


I doubt she summoned some demons in one of the most important place Yu-Shan ( unless she wanted whole army of Celestial Lions and other Lesser War Gods over her head).


Used of Dragon Blooded? She would need hundred of them. And i doubt that Sidereal wouldn't suspect treachery back then ( Still that would really ironic don't you think).


Speaking also about Lotus Massacre. What consequence will be the most dangerous for creation after death of all Sid? Also since there is no single survivor don't you guys think that it's heaven can't no longer punish them for Usurpation when Mask will be fixed.

 

[cyl]

According to the PDF, the halls of the Bureau of Destiny ran red with the blood of the Maiden's Chosen, with the Empress being the one who personally plucked out Chejop Kejak's eyes, then whispered a secret taunt in his ear as she cut his throat. Which has to be a shitty way for an Essence 10 Sidereal Grandmaster, alive since the very start of the First Age, to go. I mean, damn.

That's more dignity that he deserved... I bet that she just told him something like:


"I know it's not the way you saw your end, but what can I say... you've been blind for millenias... no wonder you could not get the prophecy about your own death right !" aaaaaaand slit. :twisted:

 

[Thanqol]

No, it was, "I can believe it's not butter." *Stab*

 

[Kyeudo]

I don't understand all the Chejop Kejack hate. I mean, sure he probably made one of the biggest mistakes ever, but he can hardly be blamed for being a Sidereal in the largest gathering of Sidereals ever and succumbing to the Great Curse.


Have I just not been reading the right books?

 

[FluffySquirrel]

And he's never once admitted it was a mistake in all the time since.

 

[Aasharu]

Bah, Kejak isn't that bad. He made a huge mistake, but he doesn't believe it was a mistake, and to be fair, he's not entirely wrong. We, sitting outside the setting, know that attempting to rehabilitate the Solars might have worked, and that the Great Curse led the Sidereals to their actions, but from in universe, they had no way of knowing, and still have no way of knowing, whether or not rehabilitation was even possible. Plus, you had Desus running around, and his actions almost single-handily justify the Usurpation.

 

[cyl]

I don't understand all the Chejop Kejack hate. I mean, sure he probably made one of the biggest mistakes ever, but he can hardly be blamed for being a Sidereal in the largest gathering of Sidereals ever and succumbing to the Great Curse.
Have I just not been reading the right books?

He hasn't made any mistakes, he chose a path and stuck by it.


He could have gone a different way, made a Witch/Wyld Hunt at the time to frag the ones fraying from the "right path", even using young solars and lunars to hunt down their elders in a sacred mission to punish the crazies.


But noooo he went "buuuuuuuuurn the wiiiiiiiiitch" on both Solars and Lunars, and that my friends is probably why I hate him; the lunars were not a threat and even with their castes broken by the Wyld, they fought and died for Creation during the Balorian Crusade because if one lunar's heart belong to a single solars, all lunars hearts belong to Luna and Gaia... I easily imagine that during the first age a lunar might have killed a solar (in a duel or something like that) giving away the simple fact that Lunars weren't the solars lapdogs.


While I do realize that he too is flawed by the curse, his choices at the time of the Usurpation were not as clouded by the Hubris as they are now... so it is because of his choices at the time that he's an object of hatred for me.


He's not a bad guy, he's just an extremist who made a wrong choice a long time ago and got his head so much up his ass because of the curse since that he can't even acknowledge he made a mistake.


I'm glad he has a pathetic death... it was long overdue ! :twisted:

 

[Aasharu]

Heh, I just recall that the Maiden of Endings, upon meeting a young Chejop Kejak, prophesied that he would end two ages. He ends the First Age by orchestrating the Usurpation, and his death at the hands of the Scarlet Empress signifies the end of the Second Age. So yeah, Kejak is the End of Ages. He needed to die, just wish he had gone down in an epic battle, rather then how he did.

 

[Jimborg]

Heh, I just recall that the Maiden of Endings, upon meeting a young Chejop Kejak, prophesied that he would end two ages. He ends the First Age by orchestrating the Usurpation, and his death at the hands of the Scarlet Empress signifies the end of the Second Age. So yeah, Kejak is the End of Ages. He needed to die, just wish he had gone down in an epic battle, rather then how he did.

I don't know how I feel about taking RoSE as cannon. I treat it more as a one of Creations many "apocalypse scenarios" (Keep in mind I don't own the book).


Though the Empress killing Kejak is appropriately ironic.