Epithets

 

Amongst Men, Lu Bu 「人中吕布，马中赤兔」

[Lu Bu]

Lu Bu’s Unique Epithet

“君，驍勇無敵，善戰無前，然勇而少計，暴而少仁。恐眾叛旦夕之間。”

“Your Excellency’s Martial Prowess are without Equal, and no one in history can match you.  While your might is unstoppable - you lack insight, while dauntlessness - you lack mercy, I fear it would not be long before everything turns against you”

Lu Bu’s combat skills are phenomenal.  He is without doubt the finest warrior in History.  His combat awareness is profound and his stances perfect.  As such he never suffers onslaught penalties, including any penalties from charms and effects that are categorized as Onslaught.
          His defense is so well formed that he is able to protect himself from all assailants without leaving any opening.  Thus he is exempted from the rule of one enemy gaining unsuspected attack when maximum number of opponents in any combat space is reached.  This combined with his blazing speed and terrifying aggression allows him to ignore coordinated attacks against him as long as he attacks.
          His nearly impenetrable defense is so robust that his Wound Penalties do not modify his DVs - though it still lowers his dice pools normally.
          Perhaps most potent of them all, Lu Bu adds his Essence Score (this includes the Might Rating of his troops in Mass Combat) as automatic successes to all Combat Related Actions of Physical Prowess and Awareness (including Join Battle Rolls).  This adding of successes also modifies relevant Static Values by the same amount.  These bonus successes are not considered bonus from Charms and does not make his attacks “charm infused.”  Like Second Excellency, this ability does not allow him to pursuit impossible attacks – such as multiple action penalties in excess of his dice pool.
          Lu Bu is also Fearless and perfectly defends against all fear effects.  This overwhelming confidence is such that as long as he is active his complementary unit is considered to have perfect morale as they are strengthened by the knowledge their commander is undefeatable.
          Regardless of his Intimacies, Motivations, Charms, and Any effects he is subjected to (Perfect or Otherwise), Lu Bu cannot be prevented from choosing to betray those around him for a sufficiently attractive prize.  This is not a mechanical effect, but should be handled in story narratives.

 

Bull of the North

[Yurgen Kaneko]

Decimate the Tepet Legions

Just a title - granted to the person who turned the current world order upside down.

 

Catalyst

[Aata]

Attune the Artifact “Clockwork Heart”

Face Celestial Justice

 

Confessor

[Flawless Oak]

Cause an NPC to commit suicide because of Guilty Conscience

Free specialty “Presence: Interrogation +1”  This does not count towards the max of 3 specialties, but it does count towards the +3 cap for total bonus dice from specialties.

 

Deliberator

[None Currently]

Become one of the 5 Solar Deliberators

Gains 1 Willpower point every Sunrise.  Regain 4 extra motes of Essence per hour.  +5 to Personal Essence Pool and +10 to Peripheral Essence Pool.

 

Devourer, The

[None Currently]

Be declared “The devourer”

No [Game] Mechanical Bonus

 

Famous Archer General

[Yurgen Kaneko]

Achieve 5 consecutive victories against mass combat units that have a minimum of magnitude 6, higher troop quality and higher magnitude than the character’s own range unit.  These victories can be spread over multiple battle/wars, but the character must not suffer defeat in between.

When commanding Mass Combat Archery Unit, the complementary unit gains +1 to Morale (max 6)

 

Famous Calvary General

[Renath of Diamond Hearth]

Achieve 5 consecutive victories against mass combat units that have a minimum of magnitude 6, higher troop quality and higher magnitude than the character’s own Calvary unit.  These victories can be spread over multiple battle/wars, but the character must not suffer defeat in between.

When commanding Mass Combat Calvary Unit, the complementary unit gains +1 to Morale (max 6)

 

Famous Infantry General

[No One Currently]

Achieve 5 consecutive victories against mass combat units that have a minimum of magnitude 6, higher troop quality and higher magnitude than the character’s own Infantry unit.  These victories can be spread over multiple battle/wars, but the character must not suffer defeat in between.

When commanding Mass Combat Infantry Unit, the complementary unit gains +1 to Morale (max 6)

 

Heavenly Spear (天槍)

[Rhianna of Marukan Alliance]

Rhianna’s unique Epithet

Combat Abilities is effectively 2 dots higher when applied to the use of any Piercing Polearm (Spears, Lances, Javelins, etc.).  Essence Score is also effectively 1 dot higher under such conditions.  This enhanced Essence score cannot be used to meet the Essence requirement to learn charms.

Some Examples are War Ability when leading Lancers, Spearmen, Javelineers.  Martial Arts when using a style that uses Spears.  Thrown when tossing a Javelin.

 

Isolation Specialist

[Flawless Oak]

Fail the Elemental Court of Wood’s Test

No [game] mechanical bonuses nor penalties

 

General of Legend

[Tepet Arada]

Gain Famous Archery General, Famous Infantry General, and Famous Calvary General, without suffering any defeat in-between.

Loses the epithet Famous Infantry General, Famous Calvary General, Famous Archery General.

The general’s complementary unit gains +1 to Morale (no max) and +1 to Drill (no max)

Opposing Mass Combat Units lose 1 dot of Morale – unless protected by Charm vs. Natural/Unnatural Mental Influences

 

Ghost Buster

[Alabaster hand of the Heaven]

Be the first to use ghost eating technique to permanently kill a ghost

Converts one attack dice to automatic success when using Ghost Eating Technique against a Ghost.  Character loses one success on any attempt to establish positive relationships with Ghosts.

 

Golden Beacon of Hope, The

[Clytemnestra]

Be the Leader of the Gold Faction Solars

Gains the “Born to Rule” merit.  Gold Faction Solars are automatically considered to be his/her “lessers”.

 

Golden Custodian of North and East

[Yurgen Kaneko]

Gain the title of the Golden Custodian of North and East

+/-1 automatic success to all social rolls depending on whether the title is a positive benefit or negative

 

Golden Custodian of South and West

[Balan, Dagnir]

Gain the title The Golden Custodian of South and West

+/-1 automatic success to all social rolls depending on whether the title is a positive benefit or negative

 

Matchless Salesman

[Alabaster Hand of the Heaven]

Alabaster’s Unique Epithet

NPCs Natural Dodge MDV is halved against Alabaster’s attempts to gain their trust.  This halving is before modifiers are applied.

 

Militia Leader

[Flawless Oak]

Suffering no losses when leading a unit with Drill 1 to victory against a superior foes in all other statistics

The character can put his complementary unit into regular formation regardless of their Drill rating.

 

Miracle Worker

[Hastha-sth]

Become the High Priest of the Unconquered Sun

Can Invoke the Miracles of any God under the governance of the Unconquered Sun – which means pretty much every Celestial and Terrestial God.  Only Malfea and Underworld gods are not under the Unconquered Sun’s governance.

Successfully invoked Miracles function at double potency. Failures on “Invoke Miracle” actions are treated as successful invocation with 0 threshold.  Botches are considered simple failures.

 

Partaker of the Forbidden Fruit

[Flawless Oak]

Survive the experiences of the The Menagerie of Fathomless Freedom

Character is forever reshaped by the inevitable corruption of such an expedition.  His Temperance Virtue is effectively 2 dots less when confronted with Temptation of the Demonic Flesh.  He also gains a token of remembrance – The Dema Sutra.  His jaded tastes however gains him superior performance in just such a situation.  Effectively gaining 3 dice to his “performance” rolls.

 

Slayer

[Nalla Bloodaxe, The]

Personally kill over a thousand sentient beings in one battle.

Opponents/Units who are under fear effects of the character cannot use coordinated attack against her.  Fearful effects are things such as successful intimidation attempt that was not resisted or fear inducing charms and effect such as Dawn’s anima.

 

Sleepless

[Currently No One]

Enter into more than 5 Eclipse Oaths concurrently.

Add 1 dot to Conviction, Temperance or Valor (Pick one, to a max of  5 dots).  Willpower Gain Rolls are penalized by one success (to a minimum of 0 successes).

 

Trainer of Heroes

[Dace]

Train more than 10,000 people with Tiger Warrior Training Technique

Gain +1 dot bonus to the Magnitude that can be trained by Tiger Warrior Training Technique

 

Training Wheels

[Dusk Princess of the Obsidian Heart]

Be chosen by the Neverborne as a Death Lord replacement candidate

+1 dot to Whisper Background with no maximum ceiling.

 

Unsavory Attraction

[Alabaster Hand of the Heaven]

Alabaster’s Unique Epithet

Alabaster is cursed (Unnatural Mental Influence) to be unable to join any religion he believes to be “Good.”  The cause can be anywhere from not be interested to actively self-sabotage his own enrollment.

 

War? What is it Good For?

[Balan]

Mire one corner of Creation into constant War for the foreseeable future

Gain the intimacy “Warmongering.”  This intimacy cannot be eroded for as long as the character possesses the Epithet.

 

Zealous for Justice

[Aata]

Rather choose death for his crimes rather than accept mercy

Set the precedence in the Third Age that Solars are subjugated to Celestial Jurisdiction.

Tachi-Kun, Central God of War

The god of war for the center direction, Tachi-Kun is also the god of Exalted warfare, the patron of the tumultuous clash between those imbued with the power of the gods. In ancient days, when the Exalted marched to war, Tachi-Kun was there, overseeing the clash of battle-Essence, savoring every shake of the earth and mountain toppled by these heroes.

To say that Tachi-Kun has been disappointed with the warriors of the Blessed Isle since the Usurpation is something of an understatement. He finds the Dragon-Blooded focus on unit tactics and dog-packing to lack the honor and glory of the ancient wars, when Solars took to the field against their foes, each a hero in his own right.

This isn’t to say that Tachi-Kun doesn’t support the Bronze Faction, of course. He is too wise to see the suspicious disappearance of Darunla, the wolf-goddess of the East who supported the Solars, shortly after the Usurpation as chance—especially given that Sunipa, who favors the Dragon-Blooded, was soon after elevated to the position of war-goddess of the East. Tachi-Kun acknowledges that the Dragon-Blooded are mighty warriors; they are simply not heroes, in his mind. But then, foot soldiers rarely are.

Tachi-Kun maintains a strong rivalry with Voharun, the crow-god of Northern war. Once, in the time of the Solars, Voharun and Tachi-Kun were strong allies, but they have not gotten along since the Usurpation. Neither, however, will reveal the reason.
The central god of war is nearly eight feet tall and powerfully built. He wears an incredible suit of starmetal and jade superheavy plate, with an impressive dragon-face helm. He wields Terrible Mountain Cutter, an impressive divine grand grimcleaver. He is a superb martial artist and soldier, excelling at the use of Charms to their best effects in combat.

Sunipa, Eastern God of War Constrained By Law

Sunipa, the East’s supreme god of war, governs all aspects of war in which soldiers follow rules.  She is the patron of soldiers who follow orders, from grunts in the field to generals who start and end their battles as their heads of state direct.  Her purview also covers truces and surrenders, exchanges of prisoners, battlefield challenges, military training, supply contracts, military police and indeed every military activity in which warriors act according to agreed-upon rules.  Sunipa works closely with her colleague (and reputed relative) Shield of a Different Day (see The Compass of Terrestrial Directions, Vol. I—The Scavenger Lands, pp. 142-144).  She also directs a staff of gods who oversee other aspects of professionalized warfare, such as military intelligence, logistics and chains of command.

The goddess herself looks like a fit middle-aged woman, handsome rather than beautiful, with short, black hair and jet-black eyes.  She wears a suit of green and silver magitech armor; a minor illusion makes it look like lightweight, plain gray breast-plate strapped over simple brown leather armor.  Sunipa carries a fire lance called Delicate Scarlet Blossom and a slashing sword called Neverfrost whose blade is carved from steel-hard, unmelting ice.  Thus does Sunipa balance pomp and practicality, heat and cold, the magitech of the Exalted and the blades of common mortal soldiers.

As Eastern God of War, Sunipa answers to E-Naluna, Queen of Warfare in the Bureau of Heaven, and Hu Dai Liang, Shogun of the Crimson of Battles in the Bureau of Destiny’s Division of Battles.  Sunipa enjoys extensive worship throughout the East.  Her cult is particularly strong among mercenaries, who fight according to the terms of contracts.  Somewhat ironically, the East’s large contingent of guerillas, partisans and insurgents also pray to Sunipa… to keep the regular armies they fight slow and hidebound.  In the planning sessions at the Division of Battles, though, Sunipa only backs rebels who feel they have just cause and follow rules about legitimate and illegitimate targets for attack.  Sunipa despises rebels who try to tear down a society without building something new in its place, and sees them as no more than bandits with slogans.

For all the power and prestige of her office, Sunipa does not consider herself safe.  In the First Age, Sunipa held a lower position in the Division of Warfare as patron of the concept of soldiers under orders.  As such, the soldiers of the Dragon-Blooded Host fell in her purview.  The wolf-goddess Darunla held the office of Eastern War God. When the Usurpation came, Darunla sided with the Celestial Exalted.  Sunipa felt immensely conflicted: she could not countenance mutiny, but wanted to help her Dragon-Blooded soldiers.  Eventually, she sided with the Dragon-Blooded, reasoning that most of the Dragon-Blooded who actually attacked and slew the Solar and Lunar Exalted were just following orders from their own commanders.

After the Usurpation, Darunla disappeared and Sunipa took her place.  Sunipa believes the Bronze Faction destroyed Darunla, and could destroy her too if they ever suspect her of working against them.  Sunipa does not work directly against Solars in the East (for she fears what the resurgent Gold Faction could do to her, too) but tries to prevent any of the gods under her command from assisting the new Lawgivers.

Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid is a new god that came into being as the god of Adeptus Astartes.

Wun Ja

From “Compass of Celestial Direction Vol 3 – Yu Shan,” pg. 154

Wun Ja is god of the Shining Metropolis and Director of the Bureau of Humanity. She was once one of the most powerful gods of Yu-Shan in the First Age, but the destruction of the greatest cities of that era was a massive blow to both her spiritual and political power, and in the chaos following the Usurpation many of the gods of the Bureau were co-opted by the Bureau of Heaven. Despite her slide into the Fourth Rank of gods, she is still one of the most powerful gods in Heaven due to tithing by her subordinates, but she is incapable of appreciating that fact and sees it merely as a stopgap measure that has slowed her descent, not stopped it. As such, she is desperate to increase the power of her domain and the bureau’s influence and will break any of the laws of Heaven to do so.

Wun Ja has made overtures to both the Gold Faction and the city fathers and mothers of Creation. She is the lead proponent of the Bureau of Humanity providing aid to the Gold Faction and works tirelessly for its success. She funnels resources to the Gold Faction in exchange for promises that the cities of the Threshold will not be destroyed as the Solar Exalted regain their power, while working closely with the Sidereals of that alliance to cut the Realm off from the Threshold.

At the same time she pushes the gods of various cities to seize control of them. This is not just to boost her political power but her own personal resources, for the gods of the various cities all tithe prayers to her, and so growth in their worship means an attendant increase in her own.  Motivation: Wun Ja is desperately afraid that her Bureau will be diminished, and she will be politically destroyed.  To avoid this fate, she will do nearly anything.  Description: Wun Ja appears as a tall, slender woman made entirely of glass and metal, but she can take more humanoid shapes when the occasion requires it, especially when she walks Creation. She is a god of the Fourth Rank, although she believes she teeters on the edge of the third.  Other Notes: Wun Ja has made a concrete alliance with the Gold Faction and may call on its Sidereals and the Solars who study under them when the need requires it, although she would be surreptitious about seeking such help, as the Bronze Faction still dominates heavenly affairs.

Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 3, Valor 4

Essence: 7