Each invocation of Whirlwind Armor-Donning Prana turns an miscellaneous action into 1 minute worth of putting armor on. This is not 1 tick = 1 minute.
So in the case of Last Week’s Session, Balan performed 4 miscellaneous actions, thus it is a total or 20 ticks/seconds not 4 seconds.
Sunken Luthe – One of the 6 Lost Wonders of Creation
![Locations-SunkenLuthe[1]](http://i555.photobucket.com/albums/jj471/JamesX007/Exalted%20Past/Original%20Images/20656fa2cd28a3cb4869107ce6906155.jpg "Locations-SunkenLuthe[1]")
Deandra
![Portrait-Deandra[1]](http://i555.photobucket.com/albums/jj471/JamesX007/Exalted%20Past/Original%20Images/aad9993c9d702200b185b65a76774316.png "Portrait-Deandra[1]")
Adamant Sadness’ Anima
![Portrait-AdamantSadnessAnima[1]](http://i555.photobucket.com/albums/jj471/JamesX007/Exalted%20Past/Original%20Images/a3a3bdb075f93f7f71fdcc0fe98468c0.jpg "Portrait-AdamantSadnessAnima[1]")
Mist of Bloody Passage – Adamant Sadness’ Bonestrider
![Items-MistofBloodyPassage[1]](http://i555.photobucket.com/albums/jj471/JamesX007/Exalted%20Past/Original%20Images/cc5608e06edac7811d94e33df6c80282.png "Items-MistofBloodyPassage[1]")
Loathsome Osseous Shell – Necromantic Gunzusho Armor
Uploaded Dicer 1.9.1.11 to the Workspace.
Here is the section about Abyssal Limits from the Abyssal Book.
The Four Virtues are woven into Creation as tightly as the Five Elements, and the Neverborn could not sever their Chosen from that subtle quaternion. Abyssal Exalted can channel Willpower through their Virtues just like any other Exalted can, and they can find their Virtues challenged or conflicting. Still, the Black Exaltation gives deathknights a somewhat different interpretation of these fundamental concepts.
A player initially chooses whether his Abyssal serves a Deathlord or not, but this situation can change during play. Throughout the course of a series, a Deathlord might be destroyed, or a character might betray his master. An unscrupulous player might even ask to play a loyal Abyssal in order to gain the superior Abyssal Command, Liege, Spies and Underworld Manse Backgrounds, then have his character promptly betray his Deathlord as soon as the game begins. Once a deathknight goes rogue, though, he loses those four Backgrounds. After all, he no longer has access to his master’s armies, manses, minions or benevolence (such as it was).
On one hand, a generous Storyteller might allow the player to replace these Backgrounds with new ones. Perhaps the rogue Abyssal managed to keep one of the soulsteel gifts he gained from his Liege (changing his Liege dots to Artifact dots), or perhaps a portion of the Deathlord’s army remained loyal to the deathknight (replacing Abyssal Command with Followers). This approach is particularly appropriate if the Storyteller engineered the betrayal for the continuation of her chronicle.
On the other hand, a strict Storyteller might simply declare the Backgrounds lost. Most renegade Abyssals start their new lives with seriously diminished resources. This approach is more appropriate if the player initiated the betrayal himself (especially if the betrayal hampers the series in some way and diminishes the fun of the other players).
Should an Abyssal choose to return to a Deathlord’s service, he does not automatically regain Abyssal Command, Liege, Spies or Underworld Manse. He must earn back these Backgrounds through play, just as he would gain any new Backgrounds.
With their last spiteful gasps, the Neverborn cursed their murderers to an endless spiral of madness and betrayal. As the chosen weapons of the slain Primordials, the Abyssal Exalted no longer bear this curse. The slaves of Oblivion merely trade one burden for another, though, without even temporary insanity to excuse the atrocities their very presence inflicts upon the world. In the long term, Abyssals cannot make Creation a better place, for the unholy power of their Exaltation reaches out to poison and destroy the people they defend.
Instead of the Limit trait of the Great Curse, Abyssal characters possess a trait called Resonance. This trait tracks the displeasure of their malign masters and the accumulating force of death and destruction in their animas. Although Resonance resembles Limit in some ways, it functions quite differently in others. The most important difference is that Abyssal characters can reduce their Resonance at will… though not without cost.
The Abyssal Exalted gain Resonance in three ways:
The first time in a scene that an Abyssal transgresses against his fate as a servant of Oblivion, he gains points of Resonance equal to the successes of an Essence roll. The more powerful a deathknight becomes, the more closely the Neverborn scrutinize his actions and punish offenses. This progression extends to its ultimate form in the Deathlords, who deal very carefully with their masters for fear of appropriately high-Essence punishments—such as the First and Forsaken Lion’s eternal imprisonment within his armor.
Abyssal Exalted can sin against the Neverborn and the Void through inappropriate contact with the living world.
Storytellers can use these examples to identify other liferelated sins. Keep in mind that Abyssals can atone for certain sins, explaining how their questionable actions actually serve the greater interest of Oblivion as a stunt. Doing so gives them a small margin of grace as long as their loyalty does not falter.
The only thing the Neverborn punish more severely than supporting life is opposing Oblivion.
Abyssals can rid themselves of Resonance without a calamitous outburst—unlike other Exalts, who cannot mitigate their own Limit. Deathknights do this by reaffirming their loyalty to the Neverborn.
Atonement involves ritual prayers begun at sundown and ending at midnight, spoken in disturbing glossolalia. Magic cannot translate these words, though would-be translators can sense the malevolence beneath the inflections. When multiple deathknights gather in penance, their voices seamlessly join in eerie, spontaneous polyphony, though they do not understand their words any more together than alone. The deathknights also flagellate themselves and engage in other self-tortures.
At the conclusion of the ritual, the Abyssal’s player attempts a prayer roll to the Neverborn (Exalted, p. 132). The difficulty decreases by one for each level of lethal damage the Abyssal inflicted on himself. The Neverborn also accept human sacrifices or the senseless destruction of irreplaceable treasures whose loss diminishes Creation. If the prayer succeeds, the deathknight feels the Whispers of the Neverborn clawing through her soul. If the penance is sincere, the deathknight loses one point of Resonance per level of self-inflicted lethal damage. In case it even needs to be said, the Neverborn cannot be fooled, and attempting to trick them is a Resonance-worthy sin.
The simplest way for an Abyssal to reduce Resonance, however, is to suffer the punishment of the Neverborn. A deathknight can do so at any time with a reflexive Essence roll. Each success spends one Resonance point on black miracles such as Blight, Branding, Conduit or Stigmata. (Obviously, a player cannot spend more points than the character has accumulated.) Failing the roll, however, means the character suffers a Resonance effect with severity equal to the character’s Essence but gains another point of Resonance rather than losing any.
Although the character has no say in how or when a Resonance eruption occurs, his player spends these points and chooses their manifestation. The Storyteller can veto choices that don’t impose any actual drawbacks for the character or situation. Resonance effects are generally unpleasant enough, however, to make the selection an exercise in picking one’s poison. In addition, whenever a transgression raises a deathknight’s Resonance to 10+, the Storyteller spends 10 points on an eruption without needing a roll, choosing the most cruelly appropriate punishment(s) for the Exalt’s recent sins.
Whether under player or Storyteller control, a Resonance eruption cannot spend more points on Blight or Branding than the Abyssal’s Essence rating. A Resonance burst cannot allocate more Resonance on Conduit than the higher of the character’s Essence or Whispers. Stigmata is not limited in this way, so Abyssals who fail to provide loved ones or other buffers in the path of the Neverborn’s wrath run the risk of suffering terrible wounds if they displease their gods. A Resonance eruption can divide points among multiple effects, though, as long as each effect provides a disadvantage.
The Resonance effects listed here are cumulative, so spending three Resonance points on Stigmata makes all Essence peripheral for a scene and inflicts three levels of damage on the character. If the character already suffers from a particular Resonance effect, the same type of effect stacks to increase severity, resetting the duration from that point onward. The Storyteller can extrapolate higher-level Resonance effects for each of these categories to scourge wayward Deathlords or powerful Abyssals.
Step One: Player Controlled: Roll Essence. Count successes. Storyteller Controlled: Skip this step.
Step Two: Player Controlled: Compare successes to current Resonance points. Use lowest number. Storyteller Controlled: The number is automatically 10.
Step Three: Player Controlled: The player allocates the determined number of Resonance points among Blight, Branding, Conduit or Stigmata. Up to (Essence) points of Resonance may be spent on Blight or Branding. Up to (greater of Essence or Whispers) can be spent on Conduit. Stigmata has no limit. The Storyteller may veto any part of this selection that confers no real drawback, requiring reallocation of points until he approves the selection. Storyteller Controlled: The Storyteller allocates spent Resonance among effects as described.
Step Four: Player and Storyteller Controlled: The selected effects occur immediately, including all lesser effects associated with spending fewer Resonance points on each type of eruption.
Any of these effects might occur as the power of Oblivion streams through the Abyssal into Creation:
One natural animal toward which the Abyssal feels positively dies wherever it is, cut down by its brush with the Oblivion-tainted deathknight. The method of execution varies, but is always painful and rarely mistaken for natural causes. If no such target exists, this particular effect doesn’t apply, although other pertinent Blight effects resolve normally.
For the rest of the day, the Abyssal’s presence also puts out all natural fires of candle size or smaller and wilts natural vegetation. This effect has a radius in yards equal to the character’s Essence. Seeds are sterilized; cut flowers wilt. Plants larger than the Abyssal survive, but their foliage does not. Any recognizable, personal symbols of gods within the radius darken with a patina of soot, tarnish or mildew.
Besides being unsettling and revealing the character as a supernatural being, this effect makes it easier to follow a deathknight through environments containing plant-life. The effect imposes a -2 internal penalty to evade trackers (or -4 through forests, fertile grasslands or similarly dense vegetation).
The zone of destruction extends to (Essence x 10) yards. In addition, it puts out natural fires up to torch size, freezes standing water, spoils all food in the area and twists divine symbols into scrap. Together, these effects double the penalties to evade trackers through appropriate terrain. Natural animals exposed to the energies may develop a gruesome wasting sickness. (Check for leprosy as per p. 351 of Exalted, with a Virulence equal to the Abyssal’s Essence.) Thankfully, this disease is not contagious.
One mortal the Abyssal cares about dies. Mortals who share a reciprocal Intimacy with the deathknight are the most-favored target. Next come mortals who do not return the Abyssal’s Intimacy to them, followed by mortals whom the deathknight merely likes a bit, if only because he finds them useful.
The Abyssal’s zone of entropy—still (Essence x 10) yards—puts out natural fires smaller than a bonfire, burns divine symbols to cinders or slag and instantly kills natural animals of mouse size or smaller, carving a swath of dead insects and vermin. The energy also terminates all pregnancies and eggs, though miscarriages might not occur until days later. Mirrors that catch the Abyssal’s reflection crack.
The Abyssal’s zone of destruction extends to (Essence x 100) yards, quenching all natural fires. The deathknight suffers a -4 internal penalty to evade tracking through barren terrain and automatically fails to evade trackers through areas with any vegetation.
The weather around the Resonance epicenter grows unnaturally turbulent, with dense storm clouds, chill gales and sporadic rain that smells faintly of rot, blood or ash. Mushrooms and mildew grow wherever this rain collects, decreasing the output of farmland by half for the coming year. The clouds extend over a radius in miles equal to the Abyssal’s Essence, dissipating one day later.
The aforementioned zone of entropy lasts for a number of days equal to the Abyssal’s Essence, traveling with the Abyssal wherever she goes. Furthermore, mortals who come within (Essence x 10) yards of the Abyssal suffer one level of lethal damage per scene, causing them to bleed a thin trickle from the eyes, ears and mouth. These unfortunates also suffer a lingering -1 wound penalty while in the area from the agony of the Abyssal’s malignant presence.
A shadowland with a radius of (Essence x 10) yards opens around the Abyssal at the moment of Resonance eruption, halting any nocturnal travel through Creation until morning. Its radius contracts by 10 yards per day until it closes. While it lasts, it serves as a beachhead for hungry ghosts and spectres to rampage into the stormwracked Creation. Sensors in the Realm Defense Grid as well as instruments in the Bureaus of Seasons and Fate register such incursions of Abyssal Essence into Creation, though Yu-Shan lacks the resources to follow up on every incident.
The Abyssal’s mien assumes any number of minor spectral qualities for a scene, such as an inhuman rasping voice, glowing red eyes, deathly cold skin, audibly creaking bones or a noticeable scent of decay. The unnerving effect reveals the Exalt as a supernatural being and imposes a -2 internal penalty to all disguise-based Larceny rolls, Stealth rolls and social rolls not based on intimidation.
Spectral effects last for a full day and can manifest anywhere within (Essence x 100) yards. While unnerving, these effects have no real power to affect the world. Typical effects include animating people’s shadows as monstrous phantasms, creating chill winds that follow in the character’s wake or mirrors showing no living being’s reflection. Relevant internal penalties increase to a value equal to the character’s Essence.
For one day, the Abyssal’s unnatural presence upsets all natural animals within (Essence x 100) yards. Wild animals flee from the character and attack anyone who prevents them from doing so. Handlers can keep domesticated animals from bolting with a (Charisma + [Ride or Survival]) roll—Ride for mounts, Survival for other animals—at a difficulty equal to the deathknight’s Essence. Friendly animals are not exempt from this panic. The disturbance makes the character much easier to follow, applying spectral-effect internal penalties to evade tracking.
For one day, mortals find the Exalt’s presence unbearable. In this time, mortals must spend one Willpower per scene of interaction not to instantly develop an Intimacy of hatred and/or fear toward the Abyssal. Only those with existing positive Intimacies toward the character automatically resist this aversion, but each scene of interaction counts as a scene of weakening such Intimacies, regardless of what the deathknight does.
The preceding Branding effects follow the character for a number of days equal to his Essence.
The Abyssal forfeits one Intimacy that the Neverborn find objectionable. He remembers the severed attachment clinically like a half-forgotten dream, unable to understand why he felt attached to anything (or anyone) so irrelevant.
Rather than simply excising love, the Neverborn poison it, converting an offending positive Intimacy to an equally strong hatred.
For the rest of the day, the Abyssal must spend one Willpower to take an action that would offend the Neverborn enough to add to his Resonance. This compulsion applies even if the character already received Resonance from sinning earlier in the same scene. If the Exalt runs out of Willpower, he must submit to his Dark Fate and cannot take the offending action.
Once per scene for the rest of the day, the Neverborn can actively force the character to take any one action they wish unless the character pays one Willpower point to resist the compulsion. In conjunction with the Willpower drain associated with fighting Dark Fate in general, this effect often creates situations in which the Abyssal cannot stop himself from becoming the instrument of his own punishment. It is small comfort that an Abyssal who resists to the last cannot be made to use powerful Charms that require Willpower against his own will.
The Abyssal is fully possessed by the Neverborn for a scene, displacing and blocking any other forms of competing unnatural mental influence. The character might remain conscious but helpless during this time like a ghost in his own flesh, or he might black out and enter a fugue state, awakening later with no memory or explanation for the gore on his hands.
All motes the Abyssal spends for the rest of the scene are considered peripheral Essence for anima display.
The Abyssal suffers levels of unsoakable lethal damage equal to the Resonance spent, experiencing this injury in a blatantly supernatural and horrific manner. This damage will not reduce a character below Incapacitated, though falling unconscious at the brink of death in the middle of a battle usually results in a de facto death sentence.
Some part of the deathknight’s body withers and becomes as useless as if it were amputated. This Crippling effect lasts until the Abyssal heals all lethal damage.
The rules for gaining Resonance make it extremely difficult and arduous for an Abyssal to directly challenge his Dark Fate. Careful renegades can minimize the wrath of the Neverborn, however, by opposing them indirectly. Fighting the forces of death is a no-no, but the dead Primordials have no problem with their deathknights slaying demons, Fair Folk, violent criminals and other monsters. Indeed, such deaths often glorify Oblivion more than spilling helpless mortal blood does. Staying in one place and building relationships as the local defender causes Resonance buildup, but renegades who roam from place to place as vigilante antiheroes can fulfill their purpose as lonely death-dealers without building up more than occasional Resonance.
Players might wonder if their character can harm enemies by deliberately venting Resonance in massive blights. Why, yes, they can. If an Abyssal wants to poison the very Essence of Creation for the sake of victory in battle, that suits the Neverborn just fine. Keep in mind that invoking such powerful Blight effects necessarily involves killing someone the Abyssal likes (or at least values in some way). Any Storyteller worth her dice can easily turn this “power” against the Abyssal: a village destroyed in the course of saving it, irreplaceable allies slain (or captives the character’s Deathlord wanted alive, damn it!), a Wyld Hunt called against this highly visible Anathema, and so on.
Here is a Drawing of what modern Rathess looks like. It is not an exact match, but it gives the same feeling ancient mixed with ultra modern.
I think this is the map for First Edition. It is unofficial but is fairly detailed.
http://hd42.de/rpg_exalted_maps.html
Thought you guys might be interested.
Here is a list of Racial Stock in Creation that matches to Modern Earth Racial Stocks. This is purely just for fluff. That way you guys can envision the various ethnicities.
As far as culture is concerned, I will probably just use their architecture and culture as well just to make it less work for me.
| [Unlabeled Map | Labeled Map] |
Currently there is a Hard Cap of total of 3 +1 specialties for any given Ability. I think the cap is fine. Rising the cap will introduce more issues than it solves.
So I am writing this rule for make Specialties less permanent.
Specialties cost 3 Experience Points for a +1.
Everytime you upgrade a ability you can lower each Specialty in that Ability by 1 and get back 1 experience points.
E.g. Let say you have Melee 2 and +2 in Sword and +1 in Axes. You then raise your Melee to 3, you can lower Sword to +1 and Axe to +0 and gain 2 experience points back.
In the same situation if you raise Melee by 2 dots to 4, you can lower Sword by –2 to 0, and Axe by –1 to 0 and get 3 Experience Points back.
So yes with enough specialties you can actually get a skill for free. However, under no circumstance are you allowed to gain positive exp for giving up specialties when raising skills. The Extra Exp are simply lost.
E.g. Let say you have Presence as Favorite Skill and is at Skill 1. Let say you have +1 for Against all Odds, Inspire Confidence, Intimidation, and you raise the skill to 2, costing 1 exp. You can chose to give up all 3 Specialties but you will only receive 1 exp back not 3. The 2 other Exp are lost.
If you want to give up a Specialty for whatever reason you can as well. You can chose to lose a +1 from any number of specialties at the end of any session or when getting long term rewards. However, if corresponding abilities were not increased you gain no exp what so ever.
I think the above rule set makes it more flexible if you chose your Specialties wrongly. It is still heavy handed enough to prevent changing specialties from coming a whimsical endeavor.
Surgery: 30/5 hours/5/4This implant has a special attunement commitment of 6 motes of Personal Essence. The heart is permanently part of Aata’s anima so this attunement cannot be cancelled by the bearer. The heart made a fundamental alteration to Aata’s nature. For all intent and purpose the Heart is now Aata’s natural organ. All attempts to regenerate Aata’s original heart will fail since this mechanical wonder is now innate to him.
This whirling clockwork masterpiece of glittering vessels and gears is a mechanism of radiant green iron that literally holds Aata’s insides together. While this mechanism lacks a heartbeat, those who listen for it may discern that the heart whirs and ticks like a clock, its pace never changes even in the thrall of desire, wrath or terror.
The heart’s boundless power adds four dots each to its owner’s Strength, Stamina and two dots to Dexterity. While it’s unremitting drive increase Aata’s Integrity by two dots and his Conviction by one. Alas, a mechanical heart has little room for sentiment in its metal chambers. Thus, the owner’s Compassion rating drops by one.
Unfortunately the heart is a focus of malfean energy and corrupts both Aata spiritually and physically. Sickly green liquid now flows through his veins causing a slightly green tint to his skin. Spiritually, Aata is thoroughly desecrated. He is now a Creature of Darkness. He is now affected by the Zenith Anima, Wards against Demons, and is no longer able to learn holy charms. He also loses his Priestly status since Gods will instantly recognize the source of the prayer. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, he still retains the other powers that stem from the nature of his Exalted Essence.
Here are the 5 Trials of Necromancy
Added the Reference Material Folder on the Office Workspace. It will be where I add any reference document such as PDFs.
Currently only added the Short Labyrinth Section of the Underworld PDF. Not sure how much of it is applicable but it is probably a good read for you guys, so have some mental imagery ready for when I run my next session.
Which will not be this weekend.
Updated Dicer to 1.9.1.10
http://files.filefront.com/13520200
Also added to the Game Notes document.
The Adapteus Astartes were started in Rathess as a means to protect the holy city. They are a combination of the Dragon King Defenders and their Human Allies. Designed to be a equal rights religious organization where Humans Mixes with Dragon Kings readily. They are holy warriors of Unconquered Sun, anointed in his temple and sanctified by a Solar (Enlightened via Charm).
Primarch is a title invented by Kai and is widely adapted by the Solars and Dragon-Kings. In time it became an official title, Though before that time they were officially referred to as Chapter Legatus or Chapter Legate.
Legatus Gualterio | The official leader of the Rathess Chapter and handpicked by Head Mistress Dharacya. Gualterio is amongst the Faithful and is a vehement member of the Our Fair Lady Faction. |
Primarch Kai | The self-proclaimed leader of Rathess Chapter and the first to grant himself the title “Primarch”. This claime of authority is not accepted by any of the Rathess chapter members. Due to Kai’s divine heritage as the son of Thunder God Aata and his allies he is accorded deference and respect. |
Legate Ochieng Chiumbo | Primarch of the Kirighast Chapter. Also known as the “Alpha Primarch”, being the first official Primarch of the Adapteus Astartes by the word of Balan. |
The official ranks of the Adapteus Astartes being reestablished from the ashes of the First Age by the Dragon Kings. These are ancient titles and in the Dragon King language.
Legatus Legionis (Legate), later officially changed to Primarch: The Legates of each Legion bears this venerable title and it signifies them as the overall chapter commander.
Primus Pilus: The rank held by the commander of each Fortress-monastery. They wield enormous power and are accorded unquestionable loyalty from their subordinates. They answer only to the Legatus/Primarch, the Solars, and above them all the Unconquered Sun. All Primus Pilus are of equal rank and has no authority over the domain of another. They also do not dictate chapter policy, which is the power of their superiors.
Quaestor: The Legatus Legionis’ personal staffs are honorably titled Quaestor. These are elite of the elite of their chapters and it is traditionally a requirement before being raised as Primus Piluses. These officers are the ones who act as Legatus Legionis’ agents and sent to aid troubled Fortress-Monasteries. In times of War Quaestor is the lowest rank allowed to command Astartes Armies.
Praefectus Castorum: Third in over all command of the Chapter, the posts of Praefectus Castorum are usually filled by an unique Quaestor. This Quaestor is independent from the overall command structure and is sole responsible for the task of enforcing discipline and faith. They also serve the function of chapter quartermaster and deals with the everyday details of running the chapter. Anything short of death penalties can be taken care of by Praefectus Castorum independently without any lawful influence from the Primarch.
Pilus Prior: The tactical advisor to the Primus Pilus and is the most senior Centurion in each Fortress-Monastery garrison. They are usually those who may have the wisdom of experience but lacks the integrity, ambition, vision, flexibility, and charisma needed to handle the unquestioning loyalty of those below them. Nonetheless the Pilus Prior is high respected for their valuable insight and wisdom, especially by new commanders. Most retired Pilus Priors become instructors in the Training Grounds. The influence of Pilus Prior is such that in many chapters that a Pilus Prior’s stamp of approval is vital in establishing the authority of a newly installed officer.
Centurion: The rank and file officers of each military unit who oversees 100 Astartes and their support personnel.
Signifer: The Centurion’s quartermaster and the advisor of each unit, both spiritual and mundane. In addition to reporting to their Centurions, each Signifer can also file emergency reports to Praefectus Castorum. This ensures timely response to timely shortage and also as a form of oversight in the case of rampant corruption within the officer corp.
Legionarii: The official individual title for each Adapteus Astartes Warrior-Monk. Perhaps one of the most impressive military organizations of mortals these beings are well trained and well equipped. Each is enlightened by Solar powers and are often trained by Solar Charms.
Milites Gregarii: As beings dedicated to war and combat, the mundane needs of the Legionarii are taken care of by personal serfs and acolytes. These civilian/mortal are granted the title of Milites Gregarii to signify their elevation from mere mortals.
Triones: Cadets who are included in the Chapter for training purposes. On paper they are lower than even the Milites Gregarii because they are less than nothing, while the Milites Gregarii may have had decades of service experience.
Dragon-Blooded depending on the purity of their bloodline can exalt as early as 10 years old, or as late as 20 years old. It is commonly believed that if you have not exalted by 20 years old you will never Exalt as a Terrestrial.
To see if a Child of an Dragon-Blooded inherited the bloodline to Exalt involves rolling a single D10.
Balan and Azula’s child will Exalt as Dragon-Blooded (eventually) on a roll of 1-3 (Dragon-Blooded + No Dragon-Blooded Bloodline)
Should Nejimaru actually begets a child with a normal Dragon-Blooded, the Child will Exalt as Dragon-Blooded on 1-4.
Should the Child fail to Exalt as a Dragon-Blooded then you need to check if child is Half-Caste
When different magical beings produce off-spring together, their children invariably favor one parent’s nature over the other. A God-Blooded always favor the parent with the highest Essence at the time of conception. If both parents have the same Essence rating, consult the following list to determine primacy. Each entry supersedes the entries below it. If the result is still a tie, roll one die. The child favors the father’s heritage on odd results or mother’s on even.
So if the Child is God-Blooded, then it would be a Solar Half-Caste, since Balan has higher Essence. Should their Essence be tied Balan’s Solar Aspect will still win out over Azula’s Dragon-Blooded Aspect.
Gestation takes the usual time of the mother: 9 months for mortal, one year for Exalted and appropriate intervals for animals. Some spirits have been known to bring a child to term in matter of minutes, if so inclined. Exalted mothers show no visible signs of pregnancy until their fifth months and suffers little impairment until the 13th (-1 or -2 External Modifier to all Dexterity-based activities in the last month). Regardless of the mother’s species, a God-Blooded pregnancy suffers no complications until delivery. Such children are almost always born healthy, it is not unknown for animals and mortal mothers to die in labor (Stamina + Resistance, difficulty 1, to survive the birth). Magical beings never risk death from childbirth. Other guidelines depends on Heritage.
An Exalt must normally have a minimum of Essence 4 before her children show more than a hint of their parentage. Exalted who live as gods and receive worship (Cult at 3+) reduces this Essence requirement by one, as do those who spent a full month living in a powerful (rating 4+) uncapped Demesne prior to conception. These factors are cumulative. The actual breeding of a Half-Caste involves normal reproduction and pregnancy.
All Lunar Exalted of any Essence rating may create beastmen as an innate ability by mating with an animal partner in human form or with a human lover as an animal. In either case, the Lunar must perform the coupling in the Bordermarches or deeper into the Wyld. Conception must generally follow rules of common sense: For Example, a hawk cannot lay an egg large enough to hatch a hawkman. Once Lunar Exalted have sufficient Essence to create “normal” Half-Caste Children as described above, they may produce beastmen even in the absence of Wyld energies. Non-Lunar Exalted may occasional produce beastmen with cross-species couplings when they reach Essence 5, provided their players make an Essence roll at difficulty 3. This roll is not optional.
For conceptions that qualify to become God-Blooded the parents (both gets to roll) needs to succeed on a difficulty 2 Essence Roll. Failure means the child is Mortal.
The difficulty of the roll for animal or mortal mothers to survive the labor of an Abyssal Half-Caste or a beastmen is difficulty 2. This increases to difficulty 3 or more in the case of beastmen litters, though, thankfully, such pregnancies are exceedingly rare.
The descendents of Exalted learn the Charms of their parent heritage but may not master any Charm that provides a perfect defense or persistent scene-length defense. The Storyteller remain the final arbiter of whether a Charm meets these restrictions. Although Lunar Half-Caste cannot freely shapechage as an innate power or benefit from drinking the heart’s blood of a beast, they may gain up to 2 alternate forms with Finding the Spirit’s Shape and Deadly Beastman Transformation. Under no circumstances can Lunar Half-Caste gain any form beyond these, although they may customize their appearance or perform partial acts of shapechanging integral to the effect of other Charms. Sidereal Half-Caste with sufficient prerequisites and Traits may learn Charms that require the express approval of the Maidens as a theoretical exercise, but they cannot actually enact these powers.
New Charms cost 15 Experiences points each, regardless of whether the character favor the Trait upon which the Charm builds. Supernatural Martial Arts Charms share this cost, but characters without Martial Arts 5 and Essence 3 cannot learn these fighting styles.
Under no circumstances can God-Blooded form Combos regardless if it is an Martial Arts Combo or Standard Charms Combo.
All God-Blooded with the Awakened Essence Merit apart from Fae-blooded may also learn to cast spells. Terrestial Circle Sorcery is avilable to all the remaining heritages save Ghost-Blooded and Abyssal Half-Caste. Conversely, only these heritages may learn Shadowlands Circle Necromancy. Greater circles of sorcery and necromancy lie beyond the purview of the God-Blooded. Becoming a sorcerer or necromancer requires a great investment of time and energy, and so, the Charms necessary to unlock spells cost 10 bonus points (at character creation). Once unlocked, spells cost the same as charms. Character must also have Essence 3 and Occult 5 to undergo the Terrestrial Initiation. No God-Blooded can effectively use spells to summon and bind elementals or demons, as the workings of these spells are designed to operate in conjunction with certain privileges of the Exalted.
The Charm for Terrestrial Circle Sorcery/Shadowlands Necromancy cost 25 experience points and require training time measured in weeks rather than days.
Although still Mortal, the character bears exceptional heritage. One of her parents was a powerful magical being: a spirit, a Fair One or even a mighty Exalted. This mystical parentage has left its mark on her body and soul, conferring the blessing – and perhaps bane – of her ancestry. Characters without the Inheritance Background may not purchase Traits exclusive to the God-blooded, although minor or distant mystical ancestry may explain unusual Merits and Flaws. Character with at least one dot of Inheritance may freely purchase God-blooded Traits. In addition, God-Blooded gain extra bonus points and capacity for Flaws depending on their Inheritance rating. These bonus points may not be spent on Backgrounds.
Incase it needs to be calculated, Inheritance equals to half the sum of the parent’s Essence rating (over minimum to sire God-Blooded), rounded down.
In the case of Nejimaru: Mother was Essence 8, Father is Essence 4. Conceived in a Dragon Nest and brought to Term there, thus the min requirement for his parents to bare God-Blooded Children is 2 Essence for Mother (having her own Cult) and 3 Essence for Father. 6+1 = 7/2 = 3.5 = 3
Like those touched by the Wyld, the half divine seldom receive the added power of Exaltation. The Celestines wisely inscribe their Exalted Essence to avoid those whose birth and allegiance already bound them to other gods, let alone the descendents of their enemies. The Five Elemental Dragons took no such measures, leaving the matter of strange births as a result of strange couplings to chance, or perhaps they simply did not care. And as for the Deathlords, they are even more paranoid than the Celestines in their choice of servants. And so, by divine providence or simple luck, very few God-Blooded of any heritage draw the Second Breath. And yet, from time to time it happens.
The conjunction of Exaltation and Inheritance afford great power, but that power comes at a still greater price, as the Essence of Birth and Second Breath forever compete to slow magical development. Exalted God-Blooded are created according to the usual rules for their Exalted type, purchasing Inheritance as they would any other Background. This Inheritance allows them to spend bonus points to purchase all Traits associated with their heritage, including Charms. However, bonus points obtained from Inheritance may not be spent on Essence of magical Traits natural to the Exalt’s type.
Exalted God-Blooded are automatically assumed to have all Merits and Flaws with game effects naturally incorporated or surpassed by Exaltation, such as God-Body, Longevity, Awakened Essence, Magical Attunement, etc. for the purpose of meeting prerequisites, but they may not actually purchase these Traits. Likewise, if a God-Blooded receives Exaltation during play, she immediately loses all such redundant Merits and Flaws without recompense.
Half-Caste are a special case, as they already begin their lives attuned to the Essence of the Chosen from before birth. While it is possible for Terrestrial Half-Castes to accept Celestial Sparks, the Celestial Incarnae will not normally approve such an candidate. In the case of Terrestrial Half-Castes awakening to their Dragon-Blooded Exaltation after puberty their heritage often binds them to their parent’s aspects as well, though not always.
The power of the Second Breath completely overrides the power of a Half-Caste’s Inheritance, stripping away all exclusively God-Blooded Traits. Known Charms and Spells remain, as does any advancement of Essence, but the character is functionally a “normal” Exalted for all further development. This may provide an intriguing back-story for an Exalt, but there are no modification to newly created “completed” Half-Caste. In another words, while they retain the Inheritance Background, it provides no bonus points nor drawbacks.
The First Commandery was previous the 6th Commandery. Due to the heroic action of their Commander and the Brave 900 they are elevated to the Rank of First Commandery.
It is rumored that Queen Azula has the mind to make them Royal Guard to the New Leopard Seat as Wedding Present.
Unit Average as follows
Race: Extras
Strength: 3
Dexterity: 3
Stamina: 4
Charisma: 2
Manipulation: 2
Appearance: 2
Perception: 3
Intelligence: 2
Wits: 3
Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, Valor 4
Abilities: Archery 2, Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 1, Craft (Fire) 1, Dodge 3, Integrity 3, Investigation 2, Larceny 1, Linguistics 1, Lore 1, Martial Arts 3, Medicine 1, Melee 3 (Spear +1), Occult 2, Presence 2, Resistance 3 (Heat +2), Ride 1, Socialize 2, Stealth 3, Survival 2 (Desert +1), Thrown 2, War 3
Joint Battle: 6
Soak: 3L/5B (Chain Shirt, +3L/1B, –0 Mobility, +1 Fatigue)
Dodge DV: 3 (2 with Shield)
Willpower: 6
Essence: 1
Note: Armed with Short Spear, Chain Shirt, Large Hide Shield, Short Bow, Bolas.
These individuals are the witnesses to the coronation and will seat in the Royal Pavilion during the banquet. Unless Balan invites anyone of his own, such as Aata, these will be the only guests in the pavilion.
Knowing the Wyld Hunt would stop at nothing to destroy the Anathemas, Azula made a convincing cover for Balan – by borrowing the life and history of someone of similar appearance but of little fame.
Two weeks to the east of the Varang City of Talt, in the foothills of the Summer mountain range and the veldt below, lies the warlike nation of Harborhead. It is allied with the Realm but constantly feuds with the Varang City-States and is about to launch a war against them. Harborhead is also attempting to expand southeastward and has recently launched a series of prolonged campaign against nearby jungle tribes.
Besides the normal trophies of land and cattle, the Harborhead armies take their defeated enemies as slaves, and these slaves make up almost a quarter of Harborhead’s population. Only criminals or battle captives and their children can be lawfully enslaved, but a constant stream of them goes to the slave markets in the capital city of Kirighast – and from there to the Realm or across the South and East. In the cities, slaves are the servants of the wealthy and middle classes. On the vast farmsteads and cattle ranges, they perform all the necessary menial tasks.
This practice frees the people of Harborhead to train for war, and every native learns from childhood how to use weapons and to fight. While both men and women can join the armies, the Royal Guard is an all-female elite military force that accepts only the strongest, fastest and fiercest young virgins in Harborhead. Any young woman who meets the Guard’s exacting physical standards may join, but she must swear to neither marry nor take lovers outside the Guard while she is a member. For the duration of their service, Guardswomen are considered the sacred brides of Ahlat, Southern God of War and Cattle. Breaking their vow of chastity with anyone outside the Royal Guard is punishable by painful death. The Guardswomen act as the King’s special shock troops, train ceaselessly and drinks the blood of their enemies.
Of all the nations in the South, Harborhead has the largest number of people under arms. Harborhead is not the largest, richest or most populous country in the South… but ancient custom says that all citizens, male or female, should train with weapons throughout their lives. Harborhead’s society has two castes: the free, who carry weapons, and slaves, who don’t. From the monarch to the midwife, every free Harborheadite is ready to grab her weapons and fight.
And the citizens do fight, with great enthusiasm. After all, how can you prove yourself as a warrior without a battle? Harborheadites live in a constant, low-intensity war against their hereditary enemies, other Harborheadites. The Five Peoples of Harborhead all have old rivalries with each other, and each village raids its neighbors.
Harborhead holds literally thousands of separate combat units. Most are little village militias that steal cattle from other villages and defend against other bands on the same mission. Harborhead also has a large national army, but no one can guarantee that its divisions would obey a general mobilization order. The most powerful and disciplined military force is the Royal Guard – thousands of elite female warriors, every one sworn as a Bride of Ahlat, Southern God of War and Cattle, and fanatically devoted to their husband.
Harborhead relies almost entirely on the sort of weapons that villagers can easily make for themselves. Everyone has a short spear, javelins and an iron knife. Most people own a single-edged short sword – a stout machete that they use as a daily tool as well as a weapon. War axes are also common. Raiders use clubs when they intend to take slaves instead of cattle, as the blunt weapons are more likely to leave enemies alive. For missile weapons, Harborheadites use easily made self bows and slings.
Harborhead makes little use of firedust. The Royal Guard trains with firewands and firedust grenades, but these do not form the Guard’s chief weapons. A few units of the national army keep these weapons on hand as well, but only for the officers. Harborhead does not make or use any of the larger incendiary weapons found in other parts of the South.
For defense, most Harborhead citizens own a large ox hide shield (equal to a tower shield) painted with tribal symbols. They do not wear any sort of armor – not even the soldiers. They prefer mobility to defense: on a cattle raid, being able to run away matters more than improving the odds of surviving a blow. Officers, chiefs and other leaders sometimes wear armor in imitation of the Realm legions that have occupied the land for so long. Harborhead leaders favor lamellar armor rather than the Realm infantry’s reinforced buff jacket, though, since lamellar armor is cooler and less fatiguing to wear in the hot climate.
Most of Harborhead’s warfare is internal. Raiders make hit-and-run strikes between villages to acquire slaves and cattle. Harborheadites also raid neighboring tribes and the Varangian city-states, mostly for slaves to sell to the Realm. So far, the Realm prevents Harborhead from attempting conquest. If hotheads have their way, though, hundreds of thousands of Harborheadites – not just the national army and Royal Guard – will flood across the border to attack Varang in a vast, disorganized horde. The army and Royal Guard, however, practice tactics of their own.
Harborhead’s defense rests on its national army, which mans mud-brick forts throughout the country and along its coasts and borders. The Realm garrison, meanwhile, supplies port defense for Kirighast, with extensive fortifications and firedust artillery.
The real threat to an invader, however, comes from the deeply hostile countryside. Villages have only thorn-bush kraals for defense, but every adult is a soldier, and the Harborheadites believe the best defense is a vigorous counterattack.
Harborhead has no Celestial Exalted patronage (so far as anyone knows), and the Realm stripped the country of any First Age weapons. The population of Terrestrial outcastes is low and lacks training in the synergistic fighting that is the greatest strength of the Dragon-Blooded. Harborhead has a normal proportion of God-Blooded and thaumaturges, but no more. Harborhead doesn’t even have any allies that would come to its aid…
…except maybe Ahlat. The Southern God of War and Cattle receives more worship from Harborhead than the rest of the South put together. If Harborhead’s very survival were at stake, he might break his usual policies and assist the country. Only a massive assault by creatures of darkness (such as an entire Fair Folk court or an invading Deathlord) could bring Ahlat himself and his war aurochs from Heaven, but in other circumstances, he could recruit Exalted champions, loan out divine weaponry and supply bureaucratic cover for any small gods who wanted to fight.
Officially, Harborhead has five separate armies: one for each of the country’s four geographical divisions and one stationed around the capital of Kirighast. Each army has its own command structure. The Realm and its puppet ruler, locally called the Leopard Seat, like this arrangement because it prevents one general from commanding too great a fraction of the nation’s armed forces and, perhaps, getting ideas about mounting a coup. In addition, each army is widely scattered throughout many garrisons.
Both men and women join Harborhead’s armies. Recruits must pass a set of physical tests, but the hard and active life of farming and cattle-herding means that few applicants fail. Once enlisted, recruits engage in weapons drill, using the same weapons commonly found throughout the country. Recruits also learn the art of camouflage, if they aren’t already well versed. To instill discipline, new recruits spend a lot of time on menial labor such as cleaning the barracks and maintaining the grounds of their forts.
Each of the four regional armies is supposed to have 25,000 soldiers. Actually, they probably have a bit less: officers at every level invent “ghost soldiers” to pad their payrolls. The armies each consist of five commanderies of 5,000 soldiers. Each commandery is in turn divided into 25 captaincies of 200 soldiers. Captaincies may break into units of 100, 50 or 20 for smaller operations, led by noncommissioned officers.
In a commandery, five captaincies occupy a permanent fort in the center of their province. This fort is the army headquarters for the region. A “high captain” takes overall command of these units. This force of 1,000 soldiers consists of light infantry and cavalry, so it can respond rapidly to emergencies. The other 20 captaincies occupy border forts and watchtowers. They guard important roads and crossroads, passes, bridges, towns and other strategic locations. Platoons of 20 may go on patrol; centuries or the whole captaincy are mobilized to hunt bandits.
Some captaincies are woefully under strength. Their captains do not exercise their forces enough, or they don’t get paid enough, and soldiers desert to go home or go raiding on their own. In fact, whole captaincies may become little more than bandit gangs. Border garrisons, on the other hand, often exceed their official numbers because these soldiers get to supplement their pay by raiding across Harborhead’s borders; the army does not discourage this because their job, after all, is to fight the enemies of Harborhead.
The armies are paid from tax revenues and the Realm’s cut of the slave trade. Each level of command supplies the payroll for the next layer down. Since the Empress disappeared, the Realm’s payments for slaves have become… irregular. The net loss of revenue is debatable, but it makes a great excuse for a commander or captain to keep some of the payroll – the commander blames the shortfall on the Realm. Increasing numbers of soldiers turn to freelance cattle rustling, slave raiding and other forms of banditry to supplement their income. Eventually, the Realm satrap and the Leopard Seat disburse extra funds to bring salaries up to date (and pay off rogue officers), and the military quiets down, but Harborhead has seen eight such episodes of mass brigandage in the last five years.
The Capital Army is much smaller than the other four and has a somewhat different arrangement. The army occupies 40 camps of 250 soldiers each, scattered in and around Kirighast. None of these units may do more than patrol within their assigned district, serving as the police force for the capital and about 100 miles around it. They guard caravans headed into and out of the city, keep order in the marketplace, break up riots and quell other civic disturbances. For what it’s worth, the Capital Army is the most ethnically balanced and integrated of the armies, and the least corrupt. It’s also the military force most closely watched by the Realm’s garrison.
Captaincies frequently go on maneuvers to practice tactics on the scale of 20s and 50s. Sometimes, a whole captaincy practices combined tactics such as one platoon drawing out a hypothetical enemy while the others wait in ambush, or encircling a bandit encampment before attacking from all sides. The warlike temperament of Harborheadites and the tactical practice give the captaincies excellent drill and morale.
The armies hardly ever practice with multiple captaincies, as banditry and border skirmishes hardly ever call for anything larger than a captaincy. The Realm garrison also does not want the Harborheadites gaining too much experience at the mass combat that is the Realm’s greatest strength. On the rare occasions when the army engages in large-scale maneuvers, each captain and commander has a Realm officer to advise, interpret the orders from higher up the chain of command and coordinate with other captaincies. Harborhead has never attempted any war games involving more than a single commandery. As a result, none of the native officers have real command experience in a full-scale war. Could the commanders even hold the armies together in a crisis? No one knows.
As a result, Harborhead’s armies have no combat units larger than a captaincy (Magnitude 4). The legion-sized commanderies (Magnitude 8) are only theoretical entities, unless someone can teach the Harborheadites the craft of large-scale command, control and strategy.
Description: This captaincy could be located anywhere in Harborhead. It’s supposed to have 200 soldiers, but 20 of the soldiers are accounting fictions. The captaincy occupies a small mud-brick fort. Although the soldiers are quite disciplined in combat, they are thoroughly undisciplined in every other way. Instead of a uniform, Harborhead’s armies use a distinctive shield. Army shields are painted with a stylized leopard to show their allegiance to the monarchy, with other symbols for their commandery and captaincy.
Commanding Officer: Varies
Armor Color: Ordinary clothing with an ox hide shield; skin may be scarified or tattooed.
Motto: “Battle for the Bull!”
General Makeup: 180 light infantry with light spears, a pair of javelins, a knife and either a self bow or sling.
Overall Quality: Good
Magnitude: 4
Drill: 3
Close Combat Attack: 3
Close Combat Damage: 2
Ranged Attack: 3
Ranged Damage: 2
Endurance: 6
Might: 0
Armor: 0 (-2 mobility)
Morale: 4
Formation: Army units normally fight in skirmish or relaxed formation. They do not train at close formation fighting. Each captain has four officers as heroes and another four relays; these are heroic mortals. The rest of the captaincy consists of extras.
Harborhead also has a separate military force of frightening power: the Royal Guard, better known as the Brides of Ahlat. Its three commanderies of 5,000 women guard the Royal Palace, the great temple called the Fane of the Upswept Horns and Kirighast’s Old Town around it. They are nominally attached to the Capital Army, which they outnumber, but no one in that army would dream of giving an order to a Bride of Ahlat. The Brides of Ahlat also sometimes accompany the regular army on battles against Varangian city-states or nomads who drift up from further South. Everyone in Harborhead knows the Royal Guard’s red-and-black kilt, tasseled cloaks and horned steel caps wrapped in red-and-black turbans. Harborheadites view the Guards as paragons of the nation’s warrior ideal.
Guardswomen range in age from 16 to 27. At 27, they must retire unless Ahlat himself appears and commands that they be allowed to stay; such fortunate women usually become senior commanders. The Brides of Ahlat have no trouble meeting their recruitment quota thanks to Harborhead’s fervent piety.
When a woman joins the Royal Guard, she swears an oath of service and is ceremonially wed to Ahlat. The god himself invisibly attends these ceremonies and whispers his acceptance into the Bride’s ear. Royal Guardswomen know they fight for their god, and their god appreciates their loyalty and valor. They have superb morale. They stiffen the morale of any unit they accompany, too, since angry Brides sometimes accuse the secular army of cowardice after a defeat, and decimate them as a way to warn soldiers to fight harder in the future. The Brides absolutely terrify Varangian forces, since the Brides drink the blood of their fallen foes and sacrifice human captives to their divine husband. Even the Realm’s legionnaires find the Royal Guard unnerving.
The Realm garrison commander, General Cathak Lazera, does not like the Royal Guard. Every woman in this army has pledged herself to the god Ahlat, in gross defiance of Immaculate doctrine. More importantly to Lazera, the Royal Guard does not accept supervision by Realm officers and shows considerably more reverence for its divine patron than for the monarch the Guard supposedly protects. One word from Ahlat could unleash a highly disciplined, elite fighting force against Harborhead’s government – or the Realm garrison itself.
The Royal Guard occupies three sets of barracks near the Royal Palace. Each commandery consists of eight watchgroups of 625 women each: two sleeping, four training and two on guard duty. The three commanders take orders directly from the Leopard Seat… and that monarch hopes they will continue to do so. Harborhead seldom commits more than one watch-group to a battle. Each watch-group has its own captain. Watch-groups in turn break down into 25 groups of 25 Brides of Ahlat, each with a lieutenant who can take command if the unit must act on its own. These groups of 25 are called “Horns of the Bull.”
Every one of the commanders and captains can channel Essence, whether because they are outcaste Terrestrial Exalted, God-Blooded or as a gift from Ahlat himself. Some are also thaumaturges, as are many of the priests and priestesses of Ahlat at the Fane of the Upswept Horns. In time of war, Royal Guard combat units always carry a variety of thaumaturgical talismans and alchemical drugs to enhance their combat prowess, from walkaways (see Exalted, p. 379) to blood-staunching compresses (see The Books of Sorcery, Vol. III – Oadenol’s Codex, p. 130).
The Royal Guard includes several outcastes Terrestrial Exalted who was born in Harborhead. These outcastes view their Exaltations as gifts from Ahlat rather than the Dragons, and serve their god as long as he chooses. After retirement, they usually enter Ahlat’s priesthood.
Description: Under normal circumstances, Brides of Ahlat seldom fight in groups larger than a single Horn – but how often do circumstances stay normal for heroes? When Harborhead goes to war, entire watch-groups take the field. Whoever they fight faces hundreds of fanatical young women trained to the peak of combat prowess and screaming for blood.
Ahlatsehun (“Ahlat Keeps Promise” in an old tribal tongue), a third-generation Bride of Ahlat and God-Blooded daughter of one of her gods’ war-aurochs, commands this unit.
Commanding Officer: Ahlatsehun
Armor Color: Red-and-black kilt, red-and-black turban around horned steel cap, tasseled cloak, some leather straps.
Motto: “Blood for Ahlat, blood for the Bull!”
General Makeup: 625 light infantry armed with spears, knives and ox hide shields. They also have one or two minor items of protective or healing thaumaturgy per Horn of soldiers, and the hecatomb blessing.
Overall Quality: Elite
Magnitude: 5
Drill: 5
Close Combat Attack: 4
Close Combat Damage: 3
Ranged Attack: 3
Ranged Damage: 3
Endurance: 9
Might: 1
Armor: 0 (-0 mobility)
Morale: 5
Formation: Brides of Ahlat usually fight in close formation, stabbing their spears in unison. In addition to Ahlatsehun, the watch-group has five lieutenants with sufficient skill and charisma to function as heroes and rally groups of Magnitude 2 or 3 around themselves, if need be. Another five Brides are trained as relays; they send messages using colored streamers tied to their war-goads. All Brides are heroic mortals.
This is an pair of thick Jade Bracer that is bulkier than normal.
The added bulk comes from the fact that it hides a set of retractable Claws.
This pair of Bracer functions as both a Jade Hearthstone Bracer and as a pair of Jade Artifact Claws (martial arts weapon)
However, this is not a new artifact. It is just 2 artifact jury rigged together by Calindra’s genius. The Claw and Bracer needs to be attuned separately, at standard cost.
Due to the nature of its combination the bracer no longer has an available hearthstone socket.
Since I haven’t found this anywhere I am making the following Rule Changes – similar to how Ride modifies mass and personal combat when on horseback.
As usual if these rules seems unreasonable or illogical, let me know.
According to my calculations
It is now
(Day 26,363) – 62/1/13
Day 13 of the 1st Month of Year 9 of Fiery Ascend. The Beginning of the short Winter Season.
It also means both Gladrien Vanja and Balan is now 1 year older.
This changes some things a little bit.
Galdrien Vanja and Lyta's Circle Ceremony Opened up with the Celebration of Balan's Birthday (assuming people know it is his birthday)
And lasted all 5 days and finished with Gladrien Vanja's Birthday Celebration.
So the Party went on and on and on :) The whole city joined in. Combined with the “herbs” of the east meaning it is both a Celebration of the New Circle and a Fertility Rite. Men and women freely coupled and many pregnancy resulted. Gladrien Vanja is not pregnant – she took Maiden Tea after.
The Actual Ceremony performed by Aata took place during the very first noon of the New Year. They swore to uphold righteousness and banish evil in all its forms.
That is when the peach and the note was delivered. (Gold Faction stole it during Calibration when everything was in chaos).
Of all the Solars in Rathess Nejimaru is the only one not in Attendance, and the only one to give his blessing to the new Circle through hand written letter.
Everyone else did so in person, including Harmonious Jade.
While Dace thought it was bad form, he agree that the necessary task of safe guarding the Evil Artifact took precedence.
Arianna left shortly after giving the couple their blessings to continue on the Manse project with [Dramatic Music]The Twilight[/Dramatic Music].
Swan stayed to enjoy the party and to keep the reclusive Harmonious Jade entertained. First time you guys see her laugh and act like she is normal.
Panther and Dace both stayed the whole time. With Panther spending more time with the Dragon Kings and Dace more time with his pupils – which is the entirety of the Rathess military (now).
During the after party Arianna used the Infallible Messenger to asked [Dramatic Music]The Twilight[/Dramatic Music] what can the peach do that Thunder-god Aata would swear an Eclipse Oath to get it.
[Dramatic Music]The Twilight[/Dramatic Music] immediately sent “She who walks with Moonsilver, of Scarlet Eyes and Sun-crowned Mane” to take it. She delivered it to Great Schema Mickey and Mickey agreed to safeguard it and use it to save a worthy life instead of letting it be used for power. Thus honoring Gladrien Vanja and Lyta’s intention.
Thus both the Mice and “She who walks with Moonsilver, of Scarlet Eyes and Sun-crowned Mane” found nothing out of the Ordinary when Aata/Balan asked them for help.
When they turned fruitless Dace even asked Harmonious Jade to check but she found no signs of anyone else other than Aata, Mice, “She who walks with Moonsilver, of Scarlet Eyes and Sun-crowned Mane,” and the standard staff members.
From that day on Harmonious Jade started to suspect [Dramatic Music]The Twilight[/Dramatic Music] of the crime. Instead of like before where she would only stalk him when he spends time with Arianna, now Harmonious Jade spent almost every waking moment spying on her prey. She believe that [Dramatic Music]The Twilight[/Dramatic Music] will eventually lead her to the Peach. Unfortunately she is wrong. Nejimaru will not bother with the peach again since it is now in good hands.
Swan and Shatek-staaac (Aata can be a part of this is he wishes) conducted the interview with all the staff members and came to the conclusion that all are accounted for and none are guilty of the theft.
Close proximity to these divine beings (all high Charisma and/or Appearance) just made the staff doubly loyal.
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